Pandora's Box
by VampireQueenAkasha
Summary: POST AVENGERS: As punishment for his crimes, Loki is stripped of his powers and exiled to Earth to learn "the suffering of humanity". It isn't an easy start and he is saved by a strange woman who calls herself, "mutant". She offers to help him for no price. Unfortunately, in the end, there is always a price for everything. LokiXOC M for chapter 13 and on.
1. Welcome to Midgard

**Pandora's Box**

**Disclaimer: **I know, I know. *Facepalms* I bet you guys are all sick of OCXLoki pairings. Well, you're sort of in luck. This won't be anything too OC like that, but with be a reason for it's M status later. It's just an idea that was running around my brain begging me to write it. And damn it, it won't shut up. LOL. Well, this is (with much reluctance) my first Avengers fic I've ever written. As told from the aftermath. Well, if I have some things incorrect, I'll remind you it's my first shot so, if you see anything out of order, don't hesitate to let me know. It will also have a slight crossover with X-Men.

_"Remorse is virtue's root; its fair increase are fruits of innocence and blessedness."_

-William C. Bryant

_"Wickedness is a myth invented by good people to account for the curious attractiveness of others."_

-Oscar Wilde

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

_"He has disobeyed his king... his fate is in his own hands now."_

-Odin

**Welcome to Midgard**

The cold, damp water from the Midgardian clouds was a mild reprieve.

He could not comprehend how it came to this. How he came to endure such a fate from the Allfather's hand. How he was sent to this pitiful realm, gripping his way through mud and grass to a small cave to shelter himself from the storm. The cave was dry, but cold, forcing him to clutch himself to keep up with warmth in the disgusting, mortal form he was forced to bear. And for what? Because he had brought forth the army of the Chitauri to Midgard. Because Asgard feared what he was capable of.

"I will find a way..." Loki vowed, his green eyes filled with hatred in the darkness, "This won't stop me."

Several hours earlier, he had stood before the Allfather-he would never address him as his father again-and Odin had been so merciless with his sentence this time. He deprived Loki of every inch of his power and banished him to Midgard until he learned the nature of humanity. What angered Loki the most was that Thor had suggested such a thing to begin with. Not only was his brother a constant nuisance, he expressed mercy all the same.

And now here he was in Midgard, weak and without his power.

But Loki vowed that would not happen any longer. He would find a way to get it all back again. He would be damned if he wasted time learning anything about these loathsome creatures. There was nothing to learn from them anyway. There had to be another way.

There had to.

Loki remained in the cave until the rain ceased enough for him to leave. He began to get hungry and decided to search for something to eat. Unfortunately, with his lack of proper clothing that the Allfather had been so "gracious" enough to give as he had done for Thor, Loki had nothing. How had Thor fared so well? How had he been fortunate enough to survive on this pitiful little rock? Loki would have to prove himself better.

He walked through the forest until he came upon a highway where he could see presumably a shopping mart. In the distance, he caught sight of a human city not far either. The mart would have to do until he found more reasonable accommodations there. As he ventured into the mart, he could see several cars parked at stations where they were being filled with a peculiar fluid that smelled absolutely horrible. Loki wrinkled his nose and entered the store.

There was an elder behind the counter of a darker skin tone and Loki ignored him as he made his way to the cooling chambers. He reached inside and quickly pulled out a bottle of milk, tearing the cap off before guzzling down its contents. The man behind the counter didn't notice what he was doing until Loki started eating some fruit in the basket.

"Hey!" the man barked, rushing around the counter to confront him. "You better have plans to pay for that!"

Loki stared at him with a calm smile. "Oh, it's quite all right," he assured him, "I'll be off in a moment."

The man scowled now, his face getting red with anger. "Are you on drugs?" he spat, "Either you pay, leave or I call the police!"

"Is that a threat?" Loki asked, his eyes glittering in challenge.

Before he knew it, he was promptly thrown from the shop with a yell and out into the cold, wet dirt. People at their vehicles laughed and pointed at the black-haired man in muddy shirt and pants, some considering him to be a mindless drug addict as evidenced by their whispered words. Loki immediately snarled at them, staggering to his feet.

"What are all of you staring at?" he bellowed, indignant to their laughter.

He quickly rushed away toward the city, blotting out their horrid laughter. Loki swore that once his powers returned, he would surely give them a reason to be jubilant. As he made his way toward the city, he noticed a sign posted that read: BOSTON.

Loki frowned and decided that this Midgardian city would serve some use to him.

O

Loki ventured down the crowded streets of Boston, taking a moment to survey his surroundings. It was strange how mildly similar the towering Earth pillars reminded him of Asgard in some strange way. The mortals moved so much like shuffling corpses, it almost amused him if it wasn't for the constant shoving and chatter. His clueless wandering drew the attention of a homeless man in an alley nearby. He was African American donned in scraps of clothing to keep himself warm in the chill air.

The man folded his arms across his chest and watched as Loki approached a vehicle that was home to unsavory characters. He shook his head with dismay, anticipating the worst. The worst came when Loki was punched in the face before the car screeched away. The man winced and uttered a soft, "Ooh" as Loki crumbled to the ground. Then, the man rushed to Loki's side and pulled him into the alley. Loki was dazed from the punch and scowled, staring down at his hand where blood had formed a small puddle.

"You know, I have never seen someone approach an MS-13 like that," he said, laughing, "You're either out of state or new to the world."

Loki frowned up at this homeless man. "More or less..." he growled.

The man smiled now. "Folks on the street call me Cookie," he told him, "What's yours?"

Loki winced at the pain in his jaw. He didn't feel like making any friends or acquaintances among the human population, but what did he care if this man knew his name? He looked up bitingly at the Midgardian in rags.

"Loki."

Cookie just laughed softly. "Gang name too?"

"No."

Cookie just shook his head. "Loki huh? Well, a name's a name anyway." He wrinkled his nose and chuckled to himself, standing and walking to a makeshift house of cardboard and garbage. "Whew, I gotta say; you smell worse than I do, and I sleep in garbage!"

Loki scowled. "I am in no need of your observation!"

Cookie held up two hands. "Hey! Just a joke, boy. No need to bite my head off."

Loki let out an exasperated sigh.

"Listen Loki; I don't need another enemy," Cookie told him, with a gentle smile, "And from the looks of things, you don't either. So I got just the thing that might make us friends." He reached into his makeshift house and pulled out a bottle of whiskey.

"Alcohol?" Loki questioned.

"Yeah!"

Cookie took a quick drink and offered it to him. Loki grimaced with disgust. "I will not consume anything that's lingered in the garbage!"

Cookie sighed patiently and gestured around him. "Take a look around you, brother. You don't have much choice."

After a moment of hesitation, Loki begrudgingly grabbed the bottle and took a drink. When he felt a coat around his shoulders, he looked up sharply at Cookie. The man had taken off his own coat and offered it to him. The coat was warm and slightly itchy, filled with a few holes and covered in dirt. While disgusting on its own, it did help Loki feel less cold than before; as much as he hated to admit that to himself.

"You look chilly," Cookie said, smiling.

"And what of you?" Loki asked, frowning at the act of charity. It confused him.

Cookie waved him off with a laugh. "I'm cool, man. I got all this to keep me warm." He gestured to his prominent pot belly.

Loki watched with confusion as Cookie disappeared into the box home.

How strange that this man helped him when he had so little.

O

The days that passed by, Loki had to spend them thinking about what he was going to do to get his powers back. Cookie was performing music at a street corner and the only reason Loki remained with him was simply because he was the only Midgardian he knew right now. But surely Cookie couldn't understand Loki's plight. He himself was homeless and without finances-to which he claimed he earned by performing on his guitar-but he wouldn't understand Asgardian ways.

But as Loki sat at the edge of a fountain, staring into the water, he began to ponder another plan. The Allfather claimed that Loki was required to understand humanity, but there wasn't much to understand. Perhaps he was to simply learn of their ways as Thor had. If so, Cookie could definitely help him in that regard.

"Loki!" Cookie rushed up to him, snapping him out of his thoughts, "Look what I got!"

Loki stared skeptically down at the object in Cookie's hands; it appeared to be a cigar. "Lovely..." he said, disinterested.

"I know, right!" Cookie exclaimed, as if he had just earned the greatest treasure in the universe. He kissed the cigar and looked skyward. "Thank you, God!"

Loki furrowed his brow, glancing up at him. "Which one?"

"God. You know, G-O-D."

"I heard you the first time; which one?"

Cookie frowned thoughtfully before grinning. "The God of Awesome, brother!"

Loki looked confused. "I'm...not familiar with that one."

"Mind if I smoke it then?"

"What you do with your ill-gotten gains is beneath my interest."

Cookie was so thrilled by his cigar that he quickly scampered off to smoke it and paid no mind to Loki's disinterest in his gift. Loki rolled his eyes with dismay at the pitiful delights of the Midgardian being and remained at the fountain's edge, continuing to ponder what he was going to do.

And how he would get his revenge.

Later than evening, Cookie had managed to get them some food that he called "spaghetti". Loki's stomach ached for sustenance and he felt ashamed for his desperation of food. He was eating food that Cookie consistently assured him was not from the garbage, but he didn't exactly trust his word either. What had he been reduced to? How had his life fallen so far to this?

"Loki," Cookie said, giving him a kind smile, "You got to keep moving on. Have faith and it'll get better."

Loki frowned intensely at that. "How can one such as yourself speak so eloquently of faith?"

"Easy. I try to look at the good parts of my life. I always think that things might get better. I'm still alive and in good health, so that's a plus. It's hard sometimes, but you can't let it get you down."

In a strange way, this filthy Midgardian had a certain wisdom to his words. A wisdom that Loki hated to admit.

Cookie smiled brightly now. "Well? Time to sleep."

Loki didn't find the dumpster to be comfortable to lean on, but he felt as if he had little option right now and simply closed his eyes. He rested his hands on his abdomen and struggled to recall the events that had led up to this moment.

He had a dream. More or less he thought of it as a dream and a recollection of past events.

_Loki was kneeling before Odin and his mother who looked devastated. Unable to speak due to the muzzle that covered his mouth, Loki could only throw bitter, seething looks at the Allfather in silence. Odin simply regarded him with regret._

_"Loki, you have not only caused this realm pain and suffering, but you have brought it to the innocent beings of Midgard," His voice was calm-too calm. He didn't seem furious, though he was adept at containing his rage quite easily. "When will it be enough, my son? When will your blind jealousy and hatred finally be quenched?" When Odin received no response, save for an indifferent scowl from Loki, his tone changed with calm authority. "You will not be shown an ounce of leniency, Loki."_

_Thor closed his eyes, standing beside Loki and wielding the chain that bound his limbs._

_"Loki Odinson..." Odin began._

_It was such hypocrisy that Odin would dare address him as his son when he had disowned and let him perish in the Void. Loki wanted to scream that he was no longer an Odinson-or even a Laufeyson-but he could not with the muzzle over his mouth._

_"You have disturbed the peace of the ream of Asgard and Midgard," Odin continued, "soaked the world of Midgard in its own blood." He raised Gungnir before Loki and took the God of Mischief's staff from Thor's hands. "I deem you unworthy to bear the title God of Asgard..." And Thor watched in anguish as Loki began to experience the same thing he had. "...unworthy of your power. Unworthy of those who have betrayed. Odin, Allfather of Asgard hereby takes from you your powers. I leave you in the fate of those you've hurt so that you may come to understand their pain. In the name of my father..."_

_Thor backed away as Odin raised Loki's spear at his young brother, watching as Loki's magic began to drain away into it. His armor began to disintegrating as well and Loki didn't even look at it. He just regarded Odin with cold loathing. But Odin continued without consequence. "...and of his father before...I cast you out!"_

When Odin had raised his spear, that was when Loki awoke to the sounds of screams. He looked up at the sight of Cookie in the middle of being stabbed several times by two men who looked disturbingly familiar to him. It suddenly occurred to Loki that these were the same men from the car that he had received the punch. Cookie's abdomen was soaked with blood and he was still getting stabbed while the men sneered at him.

"Filthy little shit!" one of them spat.

Loki didn't know what had compelled him to be so foolish; perhaps it was the fact that he was still fuming about these common thugs and their assumption that they would dare strike an Asgardian on the face. He immediately grabbed one of the men and threw him out of the alley and onto the sidewalk. This must have angered the other one because Loki immediately felt a harsh kick to his back and he was sent stumbling forward.

"Dude, are you crazy?" the other man sneered, "You must really wanna die!"

"Do we need to cut you too so you can get off?" the first one hissed.

Loki grunted and received a kick to his face. That hurt more than he thought it would and he felt himself falling backwards against a brick wall. Loki glared with hatred at the two men and grinned, locking his lips. He tasted blood in his mouth, but he would not dare feel intimidated by common thugs, no matter what weapon their wielded. The man wielding the knife flicked it back and forth in his hands, testing him to do something.

"You shouldn't play with knives," Loki hissed, "Someone might get hurt."

The two men stared skeptically at each other before laughing.

"You think you're the shit, huh, bro?" the knife man sneered, "Well, how 'bout I prove you right then?"

Loki tensed when the man lunged at him and grabbed his knife hand, struggling to keep it at bay. But he could feel the strength in his arms weakening from such a weak form. If he had his powers, this man would have been split in half without a moment of hesitation.

And then, he felt it.

A wet smack filled the air and a pain so sharp started in his back. Loki looked over his shoulder with a hiss at the other man who had plunged a knife deep into his back. Loki snarled at him and felt his body weakening from the blow. He crumbled to the concrete street, feeling a puddle of blood forming at his back.

The men laughed nastily and hovered around him. "Not so tough now, are you?"

Loki hissed with pain and felt his vision dimming. _So this was my fate, Allfather? To be banished and killed by common fools?_ Loki suddenly felt so weak and numb that he no longer heard their laughter anymore.

But then, something changed.

"Hey! Move it! It's one of those freaks!"

Loki heard the men retreat into their car and quickly drive away. What had caused them to flee so quickly? He could barely see the sight of shoes as someone approached him and knelt down. He felt hands on his body and a gentle voice filled the air; a soothing female voice that reminded him of the sweet calmness of his mother.

"Sir? Can you hear me? You're bleeding. We need to get you to the hospital."

Sir? Hah. Loki would have laughed if he found the strength to do so. He barely felt himself carried away; the person who had saved him must have been of minimal strength because he could feel his feet dragging the ground.

_My savior. Who...?_

Loki struggled to look into the face of the one who had come to his aid, but he could only see the blurry outline of a pink face and brown hair before he lost consciousness.

O

_Note_-So? What do you think?


	2. Beatrice the Brave

**Pandora's Box**

**Disclaimer: **I know, I know. *Facepalms* I bet you guys are all sick of OCXLoki pairings. Well, you're sort of in luck. This won't be anything too OC like that, but with be a reason for it's M status later. It's just an idea that was running around my brain begging me to write it. And damn it, it won't shut up. LOL. Well, this is (with much reluctance) my first Avengers fic I've ever written. As told from the aftermath. Well, if I have some things incorrect, I'll remind you it's my first shot so, if you see anything out of order, don't hesitate to let me know. It will also have a slight crossover with X-Men.

_"Remorse is virtue's root; its fair increase are fruits of innocence and blessedness."_

-William C. Bryant

_"Wickedness is a myth invented by good people to account for the curious attractiveness of others."_

-Oscar Wilde

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

_"He has disobeyed his king... his fate is in his own hands now."_

-Odin

**Beatrice the Brave**

_Do not open the box..._

Loki grimaced as light bathed his face. His eyes struggled to focus on the new surroundings he was in; pale white walls, an aroma that was much like that of pine and a few portraits of mountains. Also, a large window greeted him to the morning sunrise and the light was so intense, Loki jerked from it, covering his face with one arm. He growled softly and winced as he felt pain shoot up into his chest. Loki looked down and noticed that he was unclothed and bandage strips covered his upper torso.

How had he arrived here?

The memories of the fight with those two thugs came back to him and he reached back, touching the place where the knife had been stabbed into his body. It throbbed at his touch and he could feel a thick padding there. Loki began to recall the person who came to his aid. Of course, he could not remember seeing their face. How unfortunate that he would feel indebted to a pitiful Midgardian for saving his life. He hated the very thought.

He could also make out the sounds of voices in the hallways.

"I just want to see how he's doing."

Just then, someone stepped into the room with a cheerful grin.

It was a woman. She had short, fairly curled brown hair and sandy-colored eyes. Her features were slightly narrowed, but not as defined as some of the women Loki had seen on Asgard. She was wearing a black coat that looked too big on her slender body and a buttoned up shirt with brown pants. She also wore a white scarf that had been unraveled and hung loosely on her shoulders and a pair of thick brown gloves. Her figure wasn't as defined as Natasha Romanov's, but there was still some sort of femininity to her. How strange that it was all covered up in thick clothing.

"Hi," she greeted, waving and coming to his bedside; she had a small accent to her voice, "Feeling better?"

Loki grimaced. "Don't tell me you were the one who saved me..."

The woman arched her brows, seemingly insulted by the comment for a brief moment. But she was still smiling as if she just brushed it off. "Wow. That's gratitude for you."

"How could a woman of your..." Loki's eyes scrutinized her shape up and down, "..._image_ frighten of two men twice your size and physique?"

The woman smiled and shrugged. "I'm a mutant. Duh."

Loki looked confused. "A what?"

"A mutant. Come on. You can't tell me you don't know what a mutant is."

"Define 'mutant' in Midgard terms."

She straightened and looked around the room; Loki could tell she was possibly looking for a way to demonstrate. She walked over to a television set on the wall and removed her gloves. Then, she smiled and raised her finger to it. When she raised her other finger, the television began to crackle with energy before it appeared on her free finger. She smiled at Loki's startled expression.

"Are you a sorceress?" he asked.

"Nope. Just a mutant," the woman told him, "I can channel energy from any available source and send it back at anyone in the form of a shot that can hurt if I want it to. Folks at Xavier's used to call me 'Battery Girl'. Yeah, there are others like me to. Mutants, I mean. It's a special trait in us Earth creatures." She smiled sheepishly and realization touched her face. "I can also...uh...read people's minds when I touch them and see any lingering thoughts if someone's left a room. I call them echoes."

Loki straightened in the bed. "So...you...?" he began.

The woman smiled and a strange awe came to her face. "I know who you are...Loki."

Loki's emerald eyes narrowed. So, she was gifted with the ability to see into others minds and she had seen into his. He began to wonder just how much she knew and was slightly intrigued with what she COULD find out. For him. "What's your name, Midgardian?" he asked.

"Beatrice," she answered. "Like the woman from The Divine Comedy. My father was obsessed with it."

Loki was actually quite familiar with the piece of literature having explored Midgardian texts in the past during the time when he had been curious and naive. He couldn't imagine why a father would name their child after a character in it, but then again; he didn't really care to know.

"Okay," Beatrice said, moving to take a spot in a chair, "How do you want to do this?"

Loki frowned up at her. "What do you mean?"

She laughed and shrugged her shoulders, amused by his confusion. "Well, you want to go back home, don't you?" she said, "I saw Odin tell you that you need to understand humanity to do that. Maybe I can give you a hand."

Loki was suspicious now. "And why would you do that?"

Beatrice grinned now and the look seemed oddly familiar to him. Like an anxious young child who was eager to explore vast territories unknown. Like Thor, in a sense. Loki recalled his childhood where Thor practically dragged him everywhere for one of his little exploration escapades.

"I would," Beatrice assured him, "I think it's totally awesome to be helping a God get back his powers!"

Loki scowled at her, impatient with her incessant delights. He didn't know why, but her cheerfulness frustrated him. "You know what I've done!"

"Yeah. But I think everyone deserves a second chance, you know."

For once, Loki had no response.

O

Getting him out of the hospital had been a challenge.

Loki was however impressed with her ability to persuade the nurse at the front desk to release him in her care. Though he did not hear all of what she told the woman, he assumed it worked because he was being let out with Beatrice without much trouble. As she had passed out her identification card, Loki tilted his head slightly to read the name better. Nothing else on the card caught his interest but the name and her age. BEATRICE HASTINGS. AGE: 26. After the issues had been settled, she gestured with a flick of her head.

"Come on," she whispered.

Loki looked down at her. "What did you tell her exactly?"

"Nothing. Just move your butt."

Loki frowned at the choice of words, but followed her out through the lobby and into the parking garage. She led him to a black and gray Jeep and climbed inside to the driver's seat. She opened the passenger door and gestured for him to enter. Loki slowly climbed inside and marveled at the cool leather; he never realized how comfortable Midgardian transportation was. Beatrice turned on the engine and they pulled out of the garage, merging into the city streets.

"So, Odin says you have to learn humanity, huh?" Beatrice said, "Well I might have a way we can start."

Loki anticipated the worst and the boring, but if it meant he'd get his powers back, he would endure for now. "I'm listening..."

"Let's get you some clothes, first."

Loki thought the idea was sufficient. After all, he was still wearing those useless rags the homeless Earth creature had given him. They stopped in front of an enormous building and Beatrice led him inside, explaining to him that the place was what Midgardians referred to as "the mall". When she inquired to him about if they had malls at Asgard, he just smiled with amusement and mistook the question.

"We haven't had a good mauling in decades," he remarked.

Beatrice laughed and shook her head. "Not a maul where people are killed. A mall is a place where they have lots of stores to buy stuff."

When they entered the mall, Loki observed the surroundings with intrigue. There were many mortals exiting and entering smaller shopping areas with bags and some had children with them. So this was a mall? It was much like a shopping market on Asgard. He could see that there also appeared to be some forms of entertainment as the children were eagerly attempting to drag their parents toward shops with noisy boxes.

"Now come on and let's find you something." Beatrice told him.

Loki spent most of the morning searching for clothes to wear. He really hated the idea of having to dress in such common attire, but by this point he had no choice. He did find some interestingly nice black suit and scarf, but Beatrice insisted on something "less formal". Loki reluctantly agreed and decided on a pair of black pants and white, unbuttoned short-sleeved shirt. When he went to try them on, he accidentally almost stepped into the women's dressing room. Beatrice was amused by this and willingly guided him in the right direction.

"They should really learn to label their rooms," he snapped, disgusted.

Beatrice waited for him as he changed.

"Come on, Loki!" she called, "Let's see!"

The dressing room door opened and Loki stepped out. Beatrice looked stunned as he twisted and turned a bit in his new attire. He certainly dressed well and looked very handsome. Loki sensed her gaze and he frowned at her.

"What?" he asked.

She blinked rapidly and shook her head before flashing a thumbs up. "Nothing. You look great!"

Loki's mouth twitched slightly at that observation, but he said nothing as he followed Beatrice to the front register. As she began to pay for his clothes with her Visa card, she had an idea and smiled at him, gesturing to the woman at the register in a soft whisper.

"Thank her," Beatrice urged.

Loki grunted and cleared his throat before nodding to the woman, putting on a smile that looked far too phony to be sincere. "Thank you, clothing mistress," he told her.

The woman's face turned a brighter shade of red and she seemed flustered by the charm Loki put on, even if it was false. Beatrice snickered slightly and took her card back before she walked out of the store. Loki followed behind her, somewhat annoyed by her snickering. It was clear that she didn't take his attempt seriously and he felt a bit flustered to be laughed at. Beatrice sensed his irritation and shrugged her shoulders.

"Come on, Loki; if you're going to fake it, at least try harder than that," she said, "I think Odin can tell the difference." She frowned thoughtfully and looked at Loki with interest. "He can see us right now, can he?"

Loki nodded his head.

"Whoa, that's pretty cool. Kind of like Jesus or something."

"I know not of this Jesus you speak of."

Beatrice let out a small snort of amusement. "Well, if you want to earn your powers back, you have to at least TRY."

Loki exhaled gruffly. "It's difficult to be sincere when your species consist primarily of contemptible fools."

Once again, Beatrice did not seem insulted by that, even if it was a jab at her own kind and possibly at her as well. "I can't wholeheartedly disagree with you, but that's not the point."

"Then explain to me the point!" Loki snapped, "Because if I have to endure any more of this ridiculous tripe, I will-" He cut himself off at the sound of a heavy rumbling and groaned, covering his abdomen with one hand. "Damn. Does this pitiful mortal form ever keep silent?"

Beatrice smiled and shook her head. "Nope." She gestured to a food court ahead. "Come on. Let's grab some grub."

"I will not consume insects!"

Another laugh. "You got a way to go, Loki..."

Meanwhile, the sight of the pair could be seen far into the gaze of Heimdall of Asgard. As silent as always, he stood and listened to the interaction of the fallen God and the human who offered her charity. Thor approached him as he stood rigidly before the broken rainbow bridge and stared at his contemplative, almost otherworldly fellow Asgardian.

"Can you see my brother?" Thor questioned.

"I can," Heimdall replied, calmly, "He is presently in the company of a mortal woman."

Thor straightened with interest and felt a smile touch his face. "Is he? Who?"

"Beatrice Hastings. A psychologist of many interesting skills," Heimdall answered. A strange, rare smile touched his own lips as well. "But Loki is not the only one with his share of secrets. This...Beatrice is not who she seems." He paused slightly before continuing. "She is but a rare member of her species. Mutant, they call it. Some consider it a disease. Others..."

Thor pondered this for a moment. He sounded cautious. "Is she in harms way?"

"Not at all. In fact, I do not believe Loki has ever seemed so...out of place."

O

Beatrice watched as the man before her was eating. She had a very dumbfounded expression on her face as did several other mall goers around her. She had only ordered Chinese noodles, but Loki had taken it upon himself to order much more than she had ever seen a man eat.

"I am amazed," he mumbled, between chews, "This wretched slop is not as disgusting as it appears to be."

Beatrice chuckled, arching her eyebrows in an odd manner. "Wow..."

Loki took a drink from a bottle of mustard and her eyes widened. "And this beverage," Loki pondered, licking his lips and studying the bottle, "What is it? It's got a peculiar aftertaste."

"That's...not a beverage," Beatrice told him, laughing slightly.

"Really? Then what is it?"

"Mustard. You put it on sandwiches, hot dogs..."

Loki pondered this before murmuring thoughtfully and continuing to drink the mustard from the bottle without further argument. After he seemed finished, he placed the bottle down and paused, seemingly looking for more of them at the other tables. When he wasn't able to find any, he sat in silence. Then, Loki watched as Beatrice continued eating and a thought began to pester him in the back of his mind. A rather nagging one.

"You realize you're different from the other members of your race, right?" he said.

Beatrice nodded with a murmur and a mouthful of noodles. "Mm-hm."

"And...that is of no consequence to you?"

"Nope."

Loki's brow knotted. He appeared to be confused. "It doesn't matter to you that they may fear, hate or despise you for what you are?"

"I guess it doesn't."

Loki scowled, frustrated. "I heard some of them address you as a freak! Surely their behavior merits some form of retaliation!"

Beatrice just calmly smiled and shrugged. "Hey, they don't know me? Well guess what? That's their loss," she replied, "Life's too short to worry about what others think. Besides, I got a great life; good job and a few good friends. And..." She smiled and gestured to him with her fork. "I just became acquainted with a God."

Loki's brow furrowed. "You're quite a strange creature, Lady Beatrice and I find your charity to strangers rather dubious."

"Yeah. I know." Beatrice replied, laughing. "But I guess you're stuck with this strange creature until you get your powers back, huh?" She paused thoughtfully and smiled again. "Whether you think it's dubious or not, I wouldn't go out of my way of I didn't want to."

Loki didn't react to that and just sat in silence, watching her as she continued to eat her meal.

_Strange creature indeed._

_I can sense loneliness in this one. Perhaps she seeks some form of company without even saying it._

That could prove rather interesting for him.

O

_Note_-Loki likes Midgardian Mustard. Who'd a thunk it, eh? ;)


	3. My Home is Your Home

**Pandora's Box**

**Disclaimer: **I know, I know. *Facepalms* I bet you guys are all sick of OCXLoki pairings. Well, you're sort of in luck. This won't be anything too OC like that, but with be a reason for it's M status later. It's just an idea that was running around my brain begging me to write it. And damn it, it won't shut up. LOL. Well, this is (with much reluctance) my first Avengers fic I've ever written. As told from the aftermath. Well, if I have some things incorrect, I'll remind you it's my first shot so, if you see anything out of order, don't hesitate to let me know. It will also have a slight crossover with X-Men.

_"Remorse is virtue's root; its fair increase are fruits of innocence and blessedness."_

-William C. Bryant

_"Wickedness is a myth invented by good people to account for the curious attractiveness of others."_

-Oscar Wilde

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

_"He has disobeyed his king... his fate is in his own hands now."_

-Odin

**My Home is Your Home**

Beatrice's home was quite something.

It stood on the outskirts of Boston; a pale white, two story house in the privacy of the woods. It had a built-in garage with a beautiful garden that had various lawn ornaments of animals, archers and even the very visages of Gods that he recognized. It was interesting seeing such a house and its bizarre decorations. Perhaps Beatrice lived in a fantasy world and it might have been part of the reason why she was so eager to help him.

"Yeah, it's not much, but it's home," Beatrice said, smiling.

When they stepped inside, Loki was stunned to see a dog suddenly at his feet, baring and snarling. It was a Siberian Husky with bright blue eyes and bared teeth. Beatrice immediately bent down to take the dog's collar. Loki wasn't so terrified of the animal as he was startled by its sudden appearance.

"Milla, no!" she ordered, "No!"

The dog growled menacingly at Loki, but when Beatrice ordered it to stop, the creature let out a whine and sunk its head down, flattening its ears against its skull. Beatrice soothed the aggravated animal with pets to its head and Loki watched the sight with mild dismay.

"Your pet doesn't seem to approve of my presence," he said.

Beatrice laughed softly and ruffled Milla's furry neck. "She'll warm up to you," she told him, "I got her as a puppy at the adoption clinic. Didn't quite like me either at first, but with a little TLC and a roof over her head, she became my best friend."

Loki looked disinterested in that and simply turned, studying the living room. His attention was diverted to the framed pictures above a fireplace; there were several of them with Beatrice depicted in most. Loki picked up one of them; she was standing with a group of children and they all appeared to be engaging in something silly and ridiculous. Beatrice walked up and smiled at the photo in his hands.

"All yours, I assume?" he asked, arching a single eyebrow.

Beatrice sputtered a restrained laugh. "No! No, no, no. I volunteer as an aid at the Beacon Hill Day Care Center." Her face filled with warmth and she chuckled softly. "Yeah, they're little monsters, but I love all of them as if they were my own."

Loki looked surprised. "They're not human?"

"Of course they're human!" Beatrice laughed, slapping his shoulder before turning, "You shouldn't take everything I say out of context all the time."

Loki watched as she walked into the kitchen and started rooting through the fridge. He turned attention to another photo and noticed it was Beatrice standing beside a man and woman in white lab coats. They were smiling and had their hands wrapped around Beatrice as she cradled a framed document in her hands. Intrigued to a light degree, he turned and held up the photo to her.

"Who are these people?" he asked.

Beatrice poked her head up from the fridge and smiled. "Oh! Those are my parents. They were with me when I received my bachelor's degree in psychology." She dropped something and disappeared behind the fridge door again. "Ouch! Damn it!"

Loki placed the photo down and approached her, leaning on the counter near her spot to see what she was doing and what was currently the cause of her irritation. She seemed to be collecting several containers of food and fruit. Some of the fruit had fallen from the bag and she was scrambling to pick them up. Loki tilted his head with amusement.

"It's quite funny; when I look at you, I don't picture one who could dabble in psychology," he remarked.

Beatrice straightened and smiled, shrugging. "Not many people do. But with my abilities, I took it upon myself to learn this stuff so that I can get involved in the criminal world. I see into their minds and understand them. I work at the police station and all it takes is one little touch and they show me everything."

Loki pondered that before a smirk touched his lips. "That's cheating."

"I'd like to think of it as..." Beatrice smiled thoughtfully, "...having a little extra help." She collected a wrapped up leftover ham before continuing. "Well, if there's anything you need while you're here, let me know."

Loki nodded, rather appreciative of her courtesy even if he did not voice it. "I could use a proper bath."

Beatrice smiled. "Sure. No problem. Follow me."

Loki followed her into the bathroom; it was clean and well maintained for what he anticipated from a single Midgardian woman living alone. She showed him where everything was and told him how to use the shower.

"The left is for hot water and the right is cold," she instructed, "If you need anything else, I'm in the kitchen."

Loki nodded his head. "Thank you."

She smiled and whistled a casual tune as she left the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

When she left, Loki took a moment to observe his surroundings. He stared at himself in the mirror; studying his eyes, cheeks and teeth for a brief moment before he began to disrobe the little clothing that he had on. Every part of him ached, despite the fact that he had been tended to and fed properly. There was still a burning sensation that wound its way up his chest and head, but it would fade in time, he hoped.

Then, curiosity got the better of him and he explored the contents on the shelves. He found a jar of perfume and sprayed it in the air, scenting it a bit. It smelled like peaches. Smiling somewhat, he put the bottle back and picked up a box of Q-tips, staring at them with confusion.

"What are these for?" he wondered to himself.

Bored with the Q-tips when he was unable to comprehend their use, he put them back and decided to bathe. But he felt embarrassed when he had forgotten what Beatrice had told him about the handles. Deciding not to ask about it and risk further embarrassment, he turned on the one on the left.

Beatrice was trimming some ham when she heard Loki's startled shout from the bathroom. She paused in what she was doing and stifled a giggle before resuming.

O

After Loki had properly bathed himself, he joined Beatrice out on the second floor porch where they had a lovely view of the woods. She offered him a ham sandwich and he took it without argument. They spent a moment listening to the sounds of the woods. Beatrice glanced at the side, studying Loki's cleaned figure; his black hair was slicked back from the wash and he had kept his shirt unbuttoned to a slight degree. Loki was also silent before he looked down at her gloved hands.

"Why do you wear those so much?" he asked.

Beatrice snapped out of her gaze before glancing down. "Well, my hands are sensitive to touch," she told him, "I also wear them to keep myself from zapping anybody. The only reason I saw into your mind was because it was unintentional. I had them off and I gave the guys who attacked you a good scare before I picked you up. I only caught a little bit of your mind's images when I did. If I wanted to see more, I'd have to be touching you for a longer period of time."

Loki's brows rose and he smiled, deciding to see if he could fluster her as he had the clothing mistress. "Is that an invitation?"

He was amused that his silver tongue hadn't been taken because Beatrice's cheeks turned a slight shade of pink and she glared at him with embarrassment. She was still smiling though. "Knock it off, Loki," she said, "That's not what I meant."

_So she isn't entirely immune to my charms_, he pondered, smiling inwardly.

"Anyway, before it gets dark, I should show you to the room you'll be staying in," Beatrice said, standing.

Loki followed her to another bedroom. Like most of her house, it was simple and pristine which was unusual for a woman of her appearance and personality. He took a moment to run his fingers across the wooden desk and study each simple detail. It had a nice, comfortable touch to it; a style that he found he particularly liked. If he would be staying here to do his learning of the mortal race, he wanted to at least be comfortable anyway. After a moment of study, he turned back to her and smiled.

"Thank you," he told her. "It seems these chambers will accommodate me properly."

Beatrice smiled. "Good. Now I have to get up early in the morning, so I'm going to call it a day."

Loki nodded his head. After the events of today, he just wanted to get some rest and concern himself with important matters tomorrow. Beatrice left him alone and he took a moment to feel the bed with his hands before collapsing into it. It was a wonderful reprieve from that horrid hospital bed and the sheets were cool against his skin. Loki closed his eyes and let out a long, tired sigh. It took a moment before he found sleep.

And he was dreaming again.

_Loki stood in the city's streets, seemingly alone. He looked around, confused by the utter destruction because it was nothing like what he had caused. The buildings were scorched from an unusual blue heat, the streets were also charred from the same. Bodies lay all around him and he recognized Hawkeye, Bruce Banner, Natasha Romanov, Tony Stark and even his brother among them. They were lifeless corpses at his feet._

_Should this have impressed him? Should the sight of his fallen enemies brought him joy?_

_In some rare moment, the sight did not._

_He wandered through the desolate waste of the city, trying to understand the cause of such bizarre destruction. He could not see anyone among the living nor find reason behind any of it. But then, there was a sound off to the side of his current position._

_Loki cast his gaze up toward the buildings and he could see something moving among them. A towering almost humanoid shape of blue, crackling energy that screamed at him. He could hear a distorted voice among the creature's shriek._

_"You let me die!"_

O

The most horrifying noise awoke Loki from sleep and nearly knocked him out of bed.

At his bedside, a piercing screech sounded from a device that flashed with numerical digits. He grabbed it with both hands and flung it across the room. It struck the wall and was still shrieking like a savage beast. Loki frantically grabbed it and began to beat it into the floor until the screeching stopped. Loki stared at the device furiously, trying to comprehend why Beatrice would keep such a loud, irritating thing in her home.

After relaxing, he noticed that the sun was up and he was beginning to get hungry. Loki stepped out of his room and entered the kitchen where Milla was standing. He tensed slightly and moved around her as the dog softly growled. Glaring down at the creature for a moment more, Loki made his way to the counter where he noticed a written note lying. He picked it up and let his eyes rove over the message Beatrice had written.

_Hey sleepyhead,_

_I had to go to work. You seemed tired so I didn't want to wake you._

_I'll be back in a few hours. Help yourself to anything in the kitchen._

_Be back soon._

_B._

Loki smiled slightly at the message before setting it down. He paced around the kitchen a bit, searching the cabinets for anything to eat since his insides wouldn't cease their irritating sounds. It was strange-looking for food as servants used to do that for him. No matter. He could easily take care of himself and he would prove that to his brother and Odin. Loki would not allow them the pleasure of seeing him squirm in this pathetic realm!

After searching, Loki discovered a box of cereal and frowned, opening the box and sniffing the contents. Milla watched him with a tilt of her head.

"Hm. It smells edible..." he mused.

He reached into the box and scooped out a handful, gingerly taking a bite. It tasted sweet and a bit like dried, chipped bread. Smiling, Loki began to pour some of the contents of the box into his mouth. Eating so much of it made him thirsty, so he decided to check the fridge to see what he could find. Most of the time, he consumed wine and sometimes tea on Asgard, but he didn't see anything like that here. Instead, he was curious by the orange juice and decided to try that. When he nearly finished the entire container, he reached for some leftover ham.

Milla barked beside him. Loki looked down and notice that she was sitting and anxiously licking her lips. He glanced to the ham in his hands, and then to the dog, putting two and two together. He sighed and scowled down at the hungry animal.

"Do you want some of this?" he asked, taking a piece and holding it up.

Milla wagged her tail and let out a whine, sniffing Loki's feet before sitting again, eyes locked onto the offering. He smirked and raised it high, out of the animal's reach. "You want this, you great, stupid animal?" he hissed, "Then you will beg me for it."

The dog barked before raising herself up on two legs and whining. Loki smiled with satisfaction and tossed the ham into the air. Milla caught it in her teeth and gobbled it up.

Loki took some of the ham and stepped into the living room. He sat down onto the couch and his eyes fell on the remote. Curious, he placed the ham onto the coffee table in front of him before he picked the remote up. He turned it in his hands for study, trying to understand what it was. His thumb pressed the POWER button and the television screen hanging over the fireplace flickered on, playing a program about cooking. Loki jolted slightly at the sight before he smiled with interest.

He looked down and pressed another button. The television channel changed to a cowboy western film. Loki smiled and pressed the same button. The channel changed to a program of a blonde-haired vampire talking with a waitress. He was a Viking who had lived long enough to see the world's horrors. Loki was intrigued, so he decided to watch this as he ate his ham. The entire program featured this vampire as an aggressive being who seemed to harbor feelings for the waitress with mental powers. Apparently, he was close to death and faced his executioner with a simple sentence: _"Tell her I was born the night she found me. Because of her I went to my true death knowing what it means to love."_

Loki tilted his head. Such unusual sentimentality when one was going to die. Especially someone like this being who had so much power and chose to live his life with a creature like that waitress. Loki couldn't fathom it. He was a monster by human standards, so why would he put for the effort?

After finishing with the television for a few hours, Loki grew bored and decided to go outside for a little bit. He wandered in Beatrice's garden, exploring the statues. He stopped at one in particular; it resembled Odin to a slight degree, with the exception of a missing eye. The sight of the "Allfather replica" angered Loki. _How dare you mock me with your stone visage! _He grabbed the statue and heaved it with all his strength, sending it crashing to the ground in pieces.

"Loki?"

He looked up and saw Beatrice standing in the driveway with a concerned look on her face. "Are you okay?" she asked.

He sighed and that calm, reserved look was back. "I'm fine..." he lied. "I'm..." He suddenly snarled and kicked a piece of rubble from the statue. "He did this to me!"

Beatrice approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, Loki; let's just get inside, okay?"

"Fine..."


	4. A Day At Beacon Hills

**Pandora's Box**

**Disclaimer: **I know, I know. *Facepalms* I bet you guys are all sick of OCXLoki pairings. Well, you're sort of in luck. This won't be anything too OC like that, but with be a reason for it's M status later. It's just an idea that was running around my brain begging me to write it. And damn it, it won't shut up. LOL. Well, this is (with much reluctance) my first Avengers fic I've ever written. As told from the aftermath. Well, if I have some things incorrect, I'll remind you it's my first shot so, if you see anything out of order, don't hesitate to let me know. It will also have a slight crossover with X-Men.

_"Remorse is virtue's root; its fair increase are fruits of innocence and blessedness."_

-William C. Bryant

_"Wickedness is a myth invented by good people to account for the curious attractiveness of others."_

-Oscar Wilde

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

_"He has disobeyed his king... his fate is in his own hands now."_

-Odin

**A Day At Beacon Hills**

"Why are you taking me here?"

Loki wasn't exactly interested in arriving at the day care center, but Beatrice was smiling and assuring him he would be learning something today. "This is a great way to begin learning about humanity, Loki," she explained, "Children are the perfect test to exercise patience. They will probably have a lot of questions for you, like children often do." She gestured to the yard of the building where kids were busy at play on swing sets, jungle gyms, and some were getting messy in a sandbox. "They had a lot for me too when I showed them my powers."

Loki sighed, never taking his eyes from the throngs of children. "And what did you do?"

"I answered them. All of them."

Loki exhaled and climbed out of the car. "Let's just get this over with..."

Beatrice hopped out of the car and smiled. "Loki?" When he turned, she pulled the corners of her mouth up to form a smile on her face. "Try one of these!"

Loki forced a painful smile and gave a small bow of his head. "If I must exercise patience, I'll do my best, Lady Beatrice."

When they entered the building, Loki grimaced at the sight of the children doing many things together; some were reading, others were eating and there were a few engaging in pretend games. One boy spotted Beatrice.

"Hey! Guys!" he yelled, "Beatrice is here!"

Loki stepped aside, narrowly avoiding a stampede of children as they moved to embrace Beatrice as she knelt down. She fell over on her bottom and instead of becoming frustrated, she just laughed and returned their embraces. Loki was amazed with her patience.

"Come on, kids!" she told them, "Beatrice needs to breathe!"

"Can you do the thing again?" the boy who had shouted her name pleaded.

Beatrice laughed and rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Guys, come on. Already?"

"Please?" they all begged.

Beatrice chuckled and shook her head. "Okay, someone get me a light bulb."

One of the older-looking kids took off and was back with the item in question as fast as he left. Loki watched as she removed one of her gloves and placed the bulb in her mouth. When she touched an electrical socket with her bare finger, the light bulb lit up, causing the children to cheer and laugh with glee. Beatrice smiled at them and placed her glove back on before standing.

"Where's Brooke?" she asked.

Loki stood there with a grudging sound as Beatrice walked away to find this "Brooke" in question. She stepped into an office and Loki could see them talking through the glass. He watched as Beatrice seemed to discuss something with an older woman. This "Brooke" had long blonde hair tied in a ponytail and wore a pair of glasses on a long, almost crooked nose. She had typical gentle features one would expect on a woman of her profession.

When Beatrice pointed behind her, obviously indicating Loki, he straightened when Brooke looked right at him. She appeared to be leery and looked at Beatrice, her features uncertain. Loki couldn't see Beatrice's face, but he could easily tell that she was trying to persuade this woman based on her body language. Eventually, Beatrice turned slightly and Loki could easily make out the words "Come and meet him" on her lips.

It seemed that Beatrice was practically dragging Brooke over to meet him. This was a great displeasure to Loki as he hated to be on the receiving end of false kindness. But Beatrice was putting forth effort for his sake which he had never had someone do.

_And I still cannot comprehend why..._

"Brooke, meet my friend Loki." Beatrice introduced.

Brooke arched her brows in a mildly condescending way. "Loki?" she inquired, "That's quite a name."

Loki stiffened with a smirk. "And so is Brooke," he replied, "Though you do not strike me as a woman who could flow calmly like the stream of a passing water."

Brooke frowned and looked at Beatrice for some kind of explanation to this man's presence. Beatrice sensed a bit of aggression between them and smiled, attempting to salvage the situation. "Ah! Brooke, Loki is here with me to become educated in children. He's my intern."

Brooke didn't seem as condescending now, but she still regarded Loki with a bare hint of disdain. "Fine."

Loki suddenly smiled and gave her a respectable bow. Beatrice was so impressed by his behavior that she didn't seem to notice that his tone was practically oozing with sarcasm. "Forgive me, Lady Brooke," he told the uncertain woman, "If I have disrespected you in any way, I offer my sincerest apologies and hope that this little predicament will not heed future attempts at friendship." He reached out and took her hand, placing a kiss on the top.

Brooke's face went slightly red. "Um...n-no..." she said, flustered, "I think since you're Beatrice's intern and..." She cleared her throat. "You'll be supervised by the staff here and..." She quickly rushed off with an awkward "excuse me".

Beatrice smiled broadly at Loki. "Wow! I'm impressed!" she told him, "I haven't seen Brooke like that since her last husband!"

Loki couldn't help but beam, despite the childishness of it. "It's all in the wordplay. I bear the title Silver Tongue for a reason."

O

Beatrice was outside later after the confrontation, playing with the children in a game of pretend. She was acting out the role of a dragon and chasing the children who were dressed up as knights in cardboard armor. Loki watched the scene with mild amusement; Beatrice was much like that of a child. He was pleasantly reminded of his childhood engaging in games like this with Thor and other Asgardian children. Of course, he would have rather spent time reading; yet somehow he found himself always playing regardless.

_That was a lie..._

"I am the great beast!" Beatrice bellowed, making comical faces, "Come and face me!"

After a few chasing moments, she took a spot beside Loki to catch a breath. He arched his brows and stared down at his hands.

"Whew!" she sighed, "That was fun!" She paused and looked at him with a breathless smile. "You should play with the children. I bet they'd enjoy that."

Loki rolled his eyes. "It's a charming thought, Beatrice; but I don't engage in silly, childish games."

She smirked. "Come on, Loki..."

Then, a little girl approached them and tugged on Beatrice's sleeve. She glanced down at the child and Loki couldn't help but look over as well. The girl must have been at least six years old and wore a cute, fluffy pink dress.

"Hi, Hannah!" Beatrice said, leaning down, "What do you need, sweetie?"

Hannah gestured for Beatrice to bend closer to her and she tilted her head to one side so the child could whisper something in her ear. A grin touched Beatrice's face and she smiled down at the little girl. "You want me to tell him?" When Hannah nodded, Beatrice chuckled. "Okay, I'll tell him." She looked at Loki. "Hannah wants me to tell you that she thinks your eyes are pretty."

Loki's brows went up before he smiled down at Hannah, giving the shy child a nod. "Thank you, little one." he told her. "I find your appearance rather adorable as well."

Hannah giggled and rushed off.

Beatrice actually grinned at him now. "See? I told you the kids would take a liking to you."

"She is one among many, Beatrice."

Beatrice stood up and patted his shoulder. An oddly intimate gesture that he dismissed and she obviously didn't make much out of. "Don't be so sure."

After the children had enough of play time, Beatrice and the other staff members brought them inside because apparently, Beatrice had something planned. Loki didn't exactly feel comfortable all of a sudden, especially when she brought them to sit in front of himself and her.

"Okay, guys; Loki here's going to share some stories with you," she told them.

He looked at her sharply. "I am?"

"Yes, you are," she whispered, "Go with it. Kids love good fantasy stories."

He frowned, slightly insulted. "Are you assuming my life is nothing more than a fantasy?"

"No. Come on, Loki. Give it a chance. You'll be teaching me too."

He cleared his throat and watched as she took a spot at a small desk and waited before turning to the children. Some of them were watching him with mouths hanging open. Others were digging in their noses and a few looked tired. He smiled, feeling somewhat out of place with his audience. After all, he had never been one to teach children anything on Asgard before. But they were simply children; they were easily enthralled with the little things.

"Um...hello, children; perhaps I should begin with a story about..." he began. He trailed off a bit before collecting his thoughts. "...a prince." He caught Beatrice's intrigued expression before continuing. "You see, this was a good prince. He did everything he was told." Loki began to pace back and forth. "But he had a father...Odin Allfather. This was a king of great power and great lies." He paused when he saw a child's hand go up. "Yes?"

"Does this story have monsters in it?" the child asked; a young girl with glasses.

Loki smiled and decided to work with that. "Why yes, it does. Smart girl, you are."

The girl giggled and her friends joined in. Loki continued.

"Well, Odin Allfather was a powerful king, loved by all. But in time, he grew weary. He had two sons; princes of Asgard. One was a powerful prince who was also exceedingly arrogant. The other was a prince who used his mind rather than muscle. He was humble, but also naive. You see, the arrogant prince did not favor the wise words of the Allfather. He ventured into a place of bitter cold with his friends against the wishes of the old king. A place ruled by hideous monsters!" His words made the children around him gasp in shock; they were clearly enthralled by his tale now and Beatrice looked interested as well. "These monsters were Asgard's objects of nightmares." His words dripped with a self-loathing that everyone missed. "Disgusting, horrible things that the arrogant prince wanted dead."

He led his friends and brother into the frozen realm and killed many of the monsters. But the naive prince knew that this would end poorly for his brother. And it did. You see, the arrogant prince was found by the Allfather. He was punished and sent away to live the life of a mortal man, leaving the naive prince to become king. But something happened. The naive prince saw through the lies of his father, the old king. The prince was in fact a monster." Loki felt a seething hate fill his chest, but he maintained composure. "That prince had been lied to for his whole life. His father had taken the prince away from the land of cold so that he could use him for himself."

Another hand went up. Loki recognized it as the same boy from when he stepped into the building. "What happened to the prince?" he asked.

Loki managed a small, cold smile that Beatrice sensed. She was listening intently, leaning against one of the chairs with a deeply troubled look on her face. Loki knew that she must have been aware that he was telling his story to them.

"The naive prince was angry. He hated the old king and his anger was so strong, he sent the king into sleep. For you see, the king's horrible secret had overburdened him for too long, so the prince took that chance to get what he felt he rightfully deserved; the love that his lying father had denied him. So, he spoke with the monsters king. He told him he could kill the old king."

Another hand. "Why did he do that?"

Loki sighed and looked at the child. "The prince was sad, little one. He was sad to be born an abomination. He was sad to see his life go this way. He wanted the source of his sorrows gone from the universe so that he could be his brother's equal." He exhaled deeply and his eyes clouded over, even misted with restrained tears. "But his brother found out his plan. The arrogant prince and the naive prince fought on the rainbow. But the naive prince was overcome. He fell off of the rainbow and into the darkness...without love. When he came back to the world, he was hated. Hated still even when he tried to help his world."

Hannah lifted her hand timidly. "Mister Loki?"

He looked at her, trying to collect himself. "Yes?"

"If the prince did something bad, why can't he just say he's sorry?" Hannah asked.

Loki smiled sadly. "Because little Hannah; the prince would not be listened to. Those around him just saw him for what he really was; a monster. They could not have a monster exist in their precious world."

The kids began to murmur quietly and Beatrice's eyes fell to the floor. Loki could see pity in her gaze and didn't know if he relished or hated it. Now he simply felt sick. Instead of letting himself fall prey to the emotions, he started talking about Asgard, its people, the creatures there not seen on Earth and even his own children. A few of the children in the room seemed to enjoy hearing about Sleipnir and Fenrir. Loki eventually found himself enjoying the attention a bit; the children seemed to enjoy listening to his wisdom and craved more of it.

After the children started working on arts and crafts, Loki took a seat beside Beatrice. She gave him a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry," she said, "I didn't realize-"

"Don't," Loki said, a bit harsher than he intended, "The reality of it is much worse."

Beatrice tilted her head. "Maybe we can talk about it when we get home?"

Loki exhaled. "Maybe..."

Just then, a little boy walked up and was holding a picture in his hands. "Mister Loki!" he said, with a grin of the purest pride on his face, "I made you a picture!"

Loki blinked slightly before straightening. "Really? Well, let's see."

The boy eagerly handed it over and Loki stared down at it. It was a perfect child's rendition of "the prince", Fenrir, Sleipnir and the rest of his children as well as what he could guess was Thor and the rest of the family. He had even drawn many hearts and people around seemingly quite jovial. Though Loki couldn't fathom what was going on and looked at the boy.

"What am I looking at?" he asked.

The boy smiled broadly. "The prince and his children!" he said, "And everyone loves him!"

Loki almost felt a hot lump in his throat, but suppressed it. "And why does the prince have no ears?"

"I took them away so he won't feel bad about people saying mean things to him."

Beatrice smiled broadly. "Aww, that was very thoughtful, Christopher," she told the child, "Mister Loki's very happy with it."

Loki felt sick all of a sudden. The child didn't realize it, but having his greatest desire displayed even in a drawing like this made him suddenly want to weep for the things he did not have or lost. Instead, he put on an excellent poker face and smiled.

"That is quite wonderful, Christopher," he told the child, "May I keep it?"

Christopher beamed and nodded before rushing off.

Loki watched him go and nearly clutched the picture so tight, his knuckles turned white.

O

Later that evening, the children were going home with their parents. The only one who remained was young Emma Keegan. Beatrice mentioned to Loki that her parents often came later than usual and the little girl had rarely ever talked with the children. Instead, she preferred to sit alone and play with puzzles.

"Emma?" Beatrice said, sitting beside the child, "Do you want to talk now?"

Emma looked at her puzzle and spoke in a small, timid voice. "The kids don't like me."

Beatrice knotted her brow. "Why's that?"

"They think I'm a freak."

"Why do they call you a freak?"

Emma looked at her almost helplessly and returned her gaze to her puzzle. Loki watched from a distance, recognizing that look from somewhere. He had once given such a look to his mother when he accidentally did something wrong and feared punishment. But this time, it felt different. This time, he had a feeling about little Emma that made his spine suddenly grow cold. Beatrice seemed to sense it too and frowned.

"Emma, tell me," she whispered, "You can always tell me."

Emma bit her lip. "You won't get mad?"

Beatrice laughed in disbelief. "Of course I won't!" She looked into the child's eyes and sensed something there and her smile drained completely. "Emma, tell me what's going on," she said, "If it's something bad, you can tell me. I'm here for you."

Emma seemed to consider this before she stood up. She looked at Beatrice and fidgeted. "I...I can do stuff..."

Beatrice was suddenly aware and her eyes widened. "Emma...since when?"

"Since yesterday."

"Can I see?"

"No!"

Beatrice smiled reassuringly and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Emma, you know I won't hurt you."

Emma looked leery for a while and glanced up at Loki. He stood rigidly, wondering how Beatrice would react. He watched in shock as the child's skin seemed to bent and shift before taking on a sickly gray color. She seemed to dissipate into a cloudy smoke and flowed around the room a few times. Beatrice's expression was one of awe and delight as she watched this before Emma returned in front of her. She looked mildly hopeful.

"Emma! That was amazing!" she gasped.

Emma looked timid. "I'm not a monster like in Mister Loki's story?"

"Of course not!" Beatrice smiled at her. "Do I look like a monster to you?"

Emma smiled now and shook her head. "No."

Beatrice scooped her up into her arms. "Oh! This is wonderful, Emma! You're abilities came at so young!" Loki watched as she walked away with the child in her arms. "Do you know what that means? That means you're going to be a strong one!"

"Really?" Emma was already excited.

"Really!"

Loki continued to watch the scene and he actually felt a smile light his lips.


	5. Seeing Both Sides

**Pandora's Box**

**Disclaimer: **I know, I know. *Facepalms* I bet you guys are all sick of OCXLoki pairings. Well, you're sort of in luck. This won't be anything too OC like that, but with be a reason for it's M status later. It's just an idea that was running around my brain begging me to write it. And damn it, it won't shut up. LOL. Well, this is (with much reluctance) my first Avengers fic I've ever written. As told from the aftermath. Well, if I have some things incorrect, I'll remind you it's my first shot so, if you see anything out of order, don't hesitate to let me know. It will also have a slight crossover with X-Men.

_"Remorse is virtue's root; its fair increase are fruits of innocence and blessedness."_

-William C. Bryant

_"Wickedness is a myth invented by good people to account for the curious attractiveness of others."_

-Oscar Wilde

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

_"He has disobeyed his king... his fate is in his own hands now."_

-Odin

**Seeing Both Sides**

The following day, Beatrice had taken a day off to allow for herself the opportunity to further educate Loki on Midgardian customs. She cautiously opened the door to his room and peered inside. He was sound asleep and stretched out across the bed like a contented lion, his chest heaving in and out peacefully with his soft, inhale and exhalations. His fingers twitched only once and his nostrils fluttered gently.

He looked relaxed as well, his facial features smooth and absent of their usual dour expression. He snorted every once in a while and moved his lips. Beatrice smiled slightly and shut the door as quietly as she could, walking down the stairs to find Milla situated at the bottom and awaiting her master for her morning feeding. She wagged her tail and panted excitedly as soon as she spotted her, the promise of food fresh in her canine mind.

"Good morning, Milla!" she greeted. "Are you hungry?" A bark answered her and she gently ushered her pet into the kitchen to get her dog bowl filled.

As Beatrice entered the kitchen, she was amazed to see that it had snowed last night. The entire yard and driveway was covered in freshly fallen snow. She grinned broadly ash she gathered Milla's bag of dog food.

"Snow!" she said, delighted, "Awesome!"

Loki eventually awoke from sleep and grunted, stretching a bit before he stood up and walked to the window. He could see Milla and Beatrice outside playing in the snow, rolling around and sending bits of it in the air. He actually formed a smile at the sight.

How could such a creature bring him a dull sense of peace? Loki had attempted to understand this ever since he met her.

Instead of trying to understand, he gathered his clothes and put them on before exiting to the backyard. The cold, crisp air nipped at his exposed flesh, but he found that it felt rather comforting. How strange that he would feel such contentment in a cold environment when he had lived in a cold, dark abyss for such a long time.

"Hey! Loki!" Beatrice greeted, rushing up to meet him, "You're a bit under-dressed."

He just smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "It doesn't bother me so much."

Beatrice grimaced and shook her head, guiding him back into the house. "Well hypothermia bothers me," she argued gently, "Get back inside and I can get you something proper to wear. We should also have a look at your bandages too and see how they're healing."

Loki exhaled impatiently. "Beatrice, really; you should stop coddling me," he insisted, "I'm not-"

Suddenly, there was a loud bellow from the other side of the front door. "Brother! I know you're in there!"

Loki cringed with a groan. "Oh no..."

Beatrice looked startled and walked over to a light socket, removing her gloves and consuming the energy with a scowl. "Who's at the door?" she asked, looking at Loki, "Do you know him?"

"Yes...it's Thor..."

Beatrice furrowed her brow. "The God of Thunder?"

Loki rolled his eyes. "Who else?"

Beatrice slowly and carefully opened the front door, facing the God clad in armor. He smiled broadly at the woman. "Ah! Lady Beatrice Hastings!" he greeted, "Forgive my loud cry. I simply did not know how else to alert you to my presence."

"How do you know my name?" Beatrice asked.

"Why, Asgard sees everything in the Nine Realms, my lady," Thor told her; he looked beyond her and spotted an irritated Loki, "And I see you've cared well for my brother."

He started to step inside, but Beatrice stepped in front of him, keeping her hand at his chest. "Whoa there, blondie!" she warned, "I don't know what you do on Asgard, but here on Earth, we usually wait for permission before entering someone's home."

Thor gave her a small bow. "Ah, forgive me; I meant no disrespect." He stepped back outside and waited.

"Ah yes; you _never_ mean anything..." Loki quipped.

Beatrice stared at the Thunder God quizzically, but glanced back at Loki before she stepped aside and gestured for him to enter. Thor stepped inside and surveyed the house with a smile. "So these are your chambers, I see."

Loki scowled at him. "Why are you here, Thor?"

Thor smiled cheerfully. "To see how you fair in this world, brother!" His eyes briefly landed on Beatrice before he chuckled. "And you fair quite well."

"You did not come all this way just to say that!" Loki snapped; he smiled angrily and squared his shoulders, "Is it not enough for Odin to cast me here on this waste of a realm that he has to send you to rub my exile in my face?"

Thor's smile faded. "Truth be told, brother; I came here of my own choice."

"If you're going to lie, do not lie to the God of Lies!"

"Can you not simply see that I am attempting to make peace with you?"

Beatrice stepped between them. "Whoa, take it easy!" she insisted, "I don't want my house getting smashed if you two decide to break out into a fight."

Loki suddenly smiled and kept his cold gaze locked onto Thor. "I had a thought, Beatrice; why don't you see into his mind?"

Thor and Beatrice stared at him as if he had finally lost it. "What?" they said, together.

"You can do that?" Thor asked, looking down at the woman.

She sighed and nodded, obviously none too thrilled about being put on the spot. "Yes. I can see into anyone's thoughts with a simple touch."

Loki smirked at Thor. "Go on then, brother; if you have nothing to fear, you have nothing to hide."

Thor frowned down at Beatrice as she removed her glove. "Will there be any pain?"

She sputtered a laugh at his genuine concern. "No. None at all. You won't feel a thing."

Thor exhaled and glanced up angrily at Loki, who appeared to be enjoying every bit of his discomfort. But if this would put Beatrice's mind at ease of him, then he would allow her to see into his mind and understand. So, he gave her a nod and she reached up, taking his hand in hers. Immediately, her mind was flooded with images and memories. She could feel all his pride as an Asgardian God, his joy in his family and the love he still had for Loki. She pushed her way through them all, seeing the battle of Jotunheim, Thor's exile, Loki's banishment and...

Wait, something else intrigued her. She backpedaled and began to see Thor's childhood. She witnessed Thor as a young, jubilant boy attempting to get the attention of a young Loki. On the outside of this, Thor and Loki could see a smile touch Beatrice's face. It seemed that she had found a happy memory. They said nothing as she continued to see.

But then, Beatrice began to see something else. She saw Thor playing with his childhood friends. She could see Loki in the background, watching the sight of Thor engaging with other children and leaving him alone to be without. Beatrice could also see Asgardian children picking on Loki and Thor attempting to defend him. But even then, it wasn't enough. Thor seemed to be more involved with others rather than his brother. He focused so much on himself and did not help Loki when he needed it.

Beatrice could also see Loki's jealousy in a scene that twisted her heart in knots. Loki and Thor were playing in a field, wrestling around when Loki had played a bit too rough and caused Thor to scrape his knee. When his mother Frigga called them, she immediately noticed Thor's knee and fawned over the wound. Loki seemed to hate the attention Thor was receiving and bit his own lip to cause blood and try to get Frigga to notice it.

It was too much and she pulled away, staring sadly at Thor. "Loki? Can you leave your brother and me to talk alone, please?"

Loki scowled slightly. "There is to be no secrets between us."

"Please," Beatrice insisted, giving him a look.

Thor was surprised when Loki begrudgingly walked away to leave them alone. Then, he looked at Beatrice and exhaled. "I assume you have some words for me."

"You're right. I do..."

O

Despite Beatrice's wish to speak with Thor alone, Loki crouched at the top of the stairs to hear what she was saying to his brother. He was amazed at how calm she sounded as she spoke. Thor was saying nothing right at the moment. But with his brother being who he was, Loki knew it was a matter of time.

"I know the kind of man you are, Thor," Beatrice said, quietly, "And it doesn't take a psychic like me to see it. You are genuinely a good person, but you lack the foresight to see the truth and that was easily the greatest kind of infliction made. Did you not think that what you did wouldn't have consequences?"

Thor frowned, shifting in confusion. "I'm afraid I fail to understand, Lady Beatrice," he protested, "What was it that I did wrong?"

Beatrice sighed and shook her head. Her eyes were filled with pain. "What I saw could not have been intentional, perhaps," she continued, "You must have known how he felt to be seen differently. The problem with a man in your position is simple; you believe yourself superior even without intending harm. You believe yourself smarter than the people who have already been down the road you're traveling. You believe that you know more than those who are suffering. But that's wrong. I haven't seen it from Loki's side, but I can understand brotherly rivalry. I've seen in a lot in the volunteer work that I do."

Even though they may have been simple jests, you can't fathom how those little things could make someone feel. I could see how your friends taunted him and made him feel inferior. Yes, he could have been covering it up so long, but eventually all that bitterness can poison your veins. It took me so long to finally make peace with myself." She laughed weakly and Loki could hear a strange tone to her voice. Something that was akin to frustration. "I hated myself for what I was and I hated everyone around me who made me feel inferior."

Thor frowned. "He never spoke-"

"Did you ever ASK him?"

Thor was silent.

"No. I imagine Loki probably wanted to not seem so weak before his parent's eyes and even yours. In younger siblings, it's often common for them to exhibit signs of rebellion to gain attention. Thus possibly where he earned the title 'God of Mischief'. He must have been quite an intellect among his peers and this obviously shunned him from his fellow warriors. Asgardians are typically brutes of great strength, am I right?"

Thor nodded his head. He was quiet the entire time, listening to her. "Well, yes...but we're a peaceful race..." he argued.

"Maybe your father had the best intentions at heart. I don't know Odin personally, so I can't really say anything on that matter. I'm not calling Loki's actions good in any way, but he had reasons for doing them."

Thor was silent before smiling a bit. "I understand you see my brother in a different light," he replied, "You are much more than Heimdell and I saw you."

Beatrice just chuckled. "Yeah well... I'm in the psychology profession, Thor. I work with these kinds of things all the time. There's a time and place for everything."

Thor gave her a small bow. "My brother is fortunate to have you."

"Thanks."

Finally, Thor turned and exited the house. "I must go. There are matters I need to attend to." He looked back at her with a smile. "Stay safe."

Beatrice faintly offered a smile as Thor took to the skies. When she closed the door, she cast her gaze toward the steps and chuckled, shaking her head. "Okay, Loki; come down," she said, "I know you were eavesdropping."

He appeared at the top of the steps and walked down, looking quite pleased. "It always does my heart good knowing my brother is denied."

Beatrice frowned at him. "You know, you're no better, Loki."

"Excuse me?"

"I want you to take a good look at yourself," Beatrice told him; she didn't look angry or upset, which was strange to him, "Self-respect permeates every aspect of your existence. If you don't have respect for yourself, you're not going get it from anyone else. Somehow, you see yourself as a monster for whatever reason. I honestly can't understand for the life of me why you do."

Loki felt uncomfortable and suddenly defensive. He scowled at her. "Of course you don't understand," he snapped, "I don't expect you to."

Beatrice looked a little thrown by his abrupt tone before she sighed and nodded. "Yeah. I know," she said, quietly, "I wouldn't know, would I?" Then, she gave him a small, hopeful look. "Then maybe you can show me."

Loki's eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"I want to understand you better. I think it would be good for you too."

"Don't pretend that you have my best interest at heart!"

"That's all I EVER have had at heart!"

"Why?" Loki demanded, taking an almost intimidating step in her personal space, "Why is it you care so much about what happens to me? Answer me that!"

Beatrice looked mildly startled, staring into Loki's flaring green eyes as she tried to search for something within them. Her brow knotted slightly with realization. "I know what's wrong, Loki," she said, gently, "You're so used to feeling isolated and treated the way you have been that you're not used to having someone actually care about you and it's confusing. I do care about you." She laughed softly. "I don't know why, but I do. I don't want to see you suffer like this for much longer."

He was quiet, staring at her impassively before hanging his head. "You're a fool..."

Beatrice chuckled and shrugged. "I may be a fool, but I'm the fool who's trying to help you." She took a careful step toward him. "Now show me, Loki. Let me see your side of the story."

Loki looked down at her, his emerald gaze filled with conflict and frustration. Finally, after a moment of sharing a near intimate stare, he raised his hand and Beatrice took it.

Immediately, she was flooded with Loki's thoughts, memories and feelings. All she could taste was his bitterness and the cruel, frozen feeling of hatred. It seemed to come from a single source; himself. Though why this was she didn't understand. From what she could see in his mind, he was a master magician, highly intelligent and had his own manner of warrior skills.

Then, she saw it.

Loki was standing before Odin at the moment when he discovered his true origins. His skin was the coldest blue and his eyes were blood red. In another scene, she could see him standing before a mirror with his chest bared to see the Jotun markings along his flesh. Beatrice could feel the hatred and disgust in his mind as the Loki image screamed with fury and shattered the mirror in front of him.

"They were monsters. The monsters Asgard hated. I was one of them."

Beatrice pulled herself from Loki's mind and stared up at him with anguish. She could feel the agony that he had endured knowing what he was and could see that he felt disarmed by her knowledge of him. Loki turned his head away, but she just smiled and shook her own, reaching up to keep him from looking away. The air suddenly felt tense between them and Beatrice wanted to do anything to put that at ease.

"I don't see any monster here." she finally said.


	6. Nothing Lasts Forever

**Pandora's Box**

**Disclaimer: **I know, I know. *Facepalms* I bet you guys are all sick of OCXLoki pairings. Well, you're sort of in luck. This won't be anything too OC like that, but with be a reason for it's M status later. It's just an idea that was running around my brain begging me to write it. And damn it, it won't shut up. LOL. Well, this is (with much reluctance) my first Avengers fic I've ever written. As told from the aftermath. Well, if I have some things incorrect, I'll remind you it's my first shot so, if you see anything out of order, don't hesitate to let me know. It will also have a slight crossover with X-Men.

_"Remorse is virtue's root; its fair increase are fruits of innocence and blessedness."_

-William C. Bryant

_"Wickedness is a myth invented by good people to account for the curious attractiveness of others."_

-Oscar Wilde

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

_"He has disobeyed his king... his fate is in his own hands now."_

-Odin

**Nothing Lasts Forever**

In the time he had spent on Earth after seeing his brother, Thor arrived at SHIELD headquarters once he had heard that he was needed. He was surprised to see Stark and the other Avengers there as well. Fury wasn't exactly thrilled, but Thor could not really recall ever seeing the man happy.

"You have summoned me?" Thor asked, as he stepped into the meeting room.

Fury eyed him as if Thor had done something wrong. "We have a problem."

"What sort of problem?"

"There was a man sighted in Boston a few days ago," Fury said, "He matched Loki's description."

Thor reacted slightly to the sight of all eyes focused on him. "Quite strange indeed," he said, turning and attempting to divert attention from the question, "But is it true that Midgardians tend to resemble others sometimes?"

"Hey," Tony said, stepping up, "If you know something about where the little prima donna is hiding, you need to tell us."

Thor exhaled and shut his eyes. He wasn't thrilled with the idea that he felt obligated to lie for his brother. After all, Loki had done his share of treachery. Yet he was being punished by enduring the life of a mortal, the very life of the creatures he had nearly destroyed. But Loki was being punished and he knew for a fact that the mortals would only do worse to him. Even Thor could attest that enough was enough.

"Loki has been banished and stripped of his powers," Thor told them, "He could be no further threat to anyone."

Banner shook his head and skeptically raised a finger. "Uh, no. Remember when he was in custody before? You saw how well that worked out."

"This is different," Thor argued, "He has no way of influencing others."

Fury's gaze intensified and he moved around the table he had been standing. "I'm sorry, Thor. But here on Earth, we don't just allow criminals to walk free. If he's been banished here for whatever reason, then he's in our hands now." There was a glimmer of sympathy in his eye, but it went as quickly as it came. "We will find him and he will face justice from our people."

O

Beatrice was standing in her kitchen, talking on the phone when Loki emerged from outside. He tilted his head with interest at the conversation she was having with someone. Apparently, she looked irritated.

"Brooke, come on. You promised you'd help me with painting the garage..." She rolled her eyes and Loki arched his brows at the gesture. "Don't do that. It's Sunday and the daycare center isn't open... Brooke! You promised me! It's going to take hours to do it on my own... Yes, Loki's going to be here. He always is..." She paused and a slight blush touched her cheeks. Brooke must have said something particularly naughty. "I really resent that! I am not that kind of woman, Brooke! He's a friend and I've been helping him and-Wait, why do I have to explain myself to you? You're the one on thin ice here, woman!"

Loki managed a smile at her annoyance with Brooke. He knew that the woman didn't exactly trust or like him and that wasn't a surprise. He didn't really care, but at the very least, the woman could have kept her word.

"Come on!" Beatrice's brow knotted. "What do you mean, 'he's scary'?" She laughed and looked at Loki with a half-amused, half-disbelieving stare and watched the man chuckle, baring his teeth and clicking them together in a mocking display, "Loki's not scary, Brooke. You just watch too much Law and Order SVU. I told you that stuff would give you the creeps...Fine, if you're not going to help me, you owe me one later. Goodbye." She hung up the phone and rolled her eyes with a groan to the ceiling. "Damn it!"

Loki just smiled broadly. "So Brooke believes me to be scary, does she? She is right to fear me."

"Brooke thinks any guy is scary these days..." Beatrice muttered, rolling her eyes, "I wanted that garage painted. It's my one day off this week and I wanted it done today."

"Perhaps I can help," Loki offered.

Beatrice looked surprised. "You?"

"Of course," Loki said, with a smile, "I used to dabble in painting as a child on Asgard. It might be fun."

She chuckled and nodded. "Okay. I have some colors I was going to pick out with Brooke."

When she gathered the paint cans and brought Loki to the garage, he took a moment to survey the size of it with a thoughtful murmur. The walls were barren and white and it seemed that Beatrice had taken down a lot of the shelves. "This is quite a canvas." he said, "I can understand your frustrations with Brooke."

"Well, yeah. But we can talk about that some other time," Beatrice replied with a shrug, "So...what color should I paint it? I can't stand this white anymore."

Loki approached the table where she put the paint cans down and surveyed each one. There was light blue, dark green, cherry red and brown. He smiled and picked up the green can of paint. Beatrice laughed and nodded. "Wow, my favorite color. Good choice."

"Really?" Loki asked, "It's your favorite?"

"Green's the color of nature," Beatrice said, taking the can and slowly starting to open it, "And I love nature."

Loki smiled. He never thought of it that way before.

Once Beatrice had the paint set up in the proper pans, she turned on some music as they painted. As they painted, they began to talk about their lives on their worlds. Loki told Beatrice that he had enjoyed time with the horses out in the fields as it allowed him a chance to clear his head. When she inquired about Sleipnir's birth, he just laughed and said, "some things should not be explained to mortals". Of course, she also told him about her parents and how they took her to every school they could until she ended up at Xavier's. She hadn't been the smartest student there, but Loki argued her logic and said, "you have more intelligence than you give yourself credit for".

It was a nice, calming time and eventually, Loki even suggested painting something a little more complex than just the color green.

"How about a forest?" he suggested.

Beatrice laughed and arched her brows. "I would but my art skills are not so good."

When she looked over, she noticed that he had already started painting several trees and even a shadowy version of Sleipnir blended in with them. His hands were covered in pain as well as his forearms, but he had rolled up his sleeves, even though it did no good since there was some paint on his pants and shoes. Her eyes widened and she leaned forward to get a better look at what he had made. He stepped aside a bit to allow her to see.

"Holy crap, that's going to make my garage nicer than my whole house," Beatrice remarked. She gave him a smirk and returned to her painting. "So you're smart and talented. Nice."

Loki grinned broadly, his chest swelling at the compliment. "Do go on."

Beatrice laughed before the channel on the radio changed to an upbeat, dance-worthy song. Beatrice grinned and started dancing to the beat as she painted. Loki watched her skeptically, wondering why she was fooling around when she wanted to get the painting done. When he looked up however, he had not realized that they were almost finished. Hm. The time certainly had a way of passing him by. He hardly noticed that the forest he had painted was practically devouring half of the right side of the garage.

"Ah, I love this song!" she gushed, dancing about in a dreamy manner; once it finished, she took a moment to collect herself.

Loki glanced down at his paintbrush before smirking. He walked up and painted Beatrice's shoulder, sending a dark green streak over her clothes. Beatrice gave a yelp and stared down at the green streak before looking up at Loki. He smirked at her, daring her with his eyes to retaliate. Beatrice shared a grin and raised her hand, sending a splatter of brown across his chest. Loki stared down at the mark before noticing her giggle. Suddenly, he felt childish, but in a way that he hadn't felt in a while. A sense of innocence radiated from her that he craved.

It felt nice.

"You dare assault a king?" he growled, in a mocking voice of authority, "Then let me show you what I have in store!"

Beatrice's eyes widened when he took a paintbrush and raised it to her face. "Don't you dare!"

Loki ignored her and painted her face with a streak of green. Beatrice had to close her mouth and a snicker burst from her nose. She took a handful of paint and smeared it across his chest some more, leaving an almost erotic trail down his abdomen.

Milla watched the scene from the garage doors with a tilt of her head as they spent time smearing paint all over each other. After a while, Beatrice suddenly started laughing and Loki let out a laugh as well, completely stunned at how far the game went. How had he found himself in such a silly, childish situation with this creature?

_How indeed..._

"Now we need baths," Beatrice said, laughing, "Because we just turned each other into modern artworks."

Loki followed her into the house. "And who was it who decided to play games?"

"Hey, you started it."

"I may have, but you completely and utterly perpetuated it."

Beatrice smiled. "Yeah. That's true. Now let's get a bath before we start solidifying."

"Agreed. I feel as if I have paint in my nose."

She giggled. "You deserve paint in your nose."

O

Loki was relieved to have gotten a bath after the paint fiasco in the garage. Of course, Beatrice took one first as she had taken the worst of the paint. He had been correct in his assumption and there was a bit of paint on the far corner of his right nostril. After Beatrice waited for him to get done, he stepped out of the bathroom and approached her in the kitchen.

"Okay, Loki; come here and we'll get the paint out of your nose," she said.

When she turned, she noticed that he wasn't wearing a shirt. He wasn't as rippling in muscle as Thor was, but he was certainly muscular enough to where it made her quickly avert her eyes in an embarrassed manner. Loki had caught that and smirked to himself when he realized that she found him quite pleasing to look at.

"Is there something troubling you, Beatrice?" he asked, playing innocent.

Beatrice blinked rapidly and her voice seemed to sputter a bit. "Nothing. Nothing at all," she lied, "Now come here and give me your nose."

The temperature in the room grew drastically warmer between them and Beatrice made an effort to ignore it. She leaned up toward him and cleared her throat, trying to make herself seem less bothered by their close proximity. Why does this keep happening? She could smell the sweet, fruit-scented soap that he had used and noticed that beads of water dripped down the muscles of his shoulders and chest. Beatrice made a conscious effort to ignore it.

Loki rolled his eyes as she brought a tissue to his nose.

"Now blow," she said.

He exhaled through his nose and she laughed good-naturedly. "Come on, that was weak," she teased, "Do it again."

Loki glared at her and blew through his nose. Beatrice dabbed up his face a bit before smiling. "Right. Good one." As she started to wash her hands, she glanced back at him halfway to watch the door. It was like she expected someone.

When she turned completely to face him after cleaning her hands, Loki looked absolutely disgusted and seemed to sense what she was thinking about. "Please. Do not tell me you actually find him suitable," he muttered.

Beatrice frowned. "Huh? Who?"

He gave her a knowing look and flicked his head toward the front door. When Beatrice knew what he was talking about, she grimaced. "Oh please, no. When he walked in, I thought his whole body was going to explode from all those muscles." Loki cracked a smile and tried not to laugh. Beatrice caught the look and giggled. "Just how many steroids does he take a second? I swear Fabio walked into my house in costume."

Loki chuckled. "Yes. My brother certainly has a bit of a...complex issue."

"Well, this 'issue' is going to relax on the couch for a bit," Beatrice muttered, "I'm dog tired."

The two retired on the couch and Beatrice switched the television on. The same show about the vampire and the waitress was on and Loki inquired about it.

"It's called True Blood," Beatrice explained, "The Viking is a vampire named Eric who has this thing for the waitress named Sookie. He's kind of rough around the edges and tends to lie and use her. But then again, he's sort of confused about how 'love' works. The series gets pretty hard to keep up with after a few seasons."

Loki frowned thoughtfully. "So if this Sookie Midgardian loves him, why doesn't she simply say so?"

"It's complicated. She still feels feelings for Bill, so..."

"But they fought and went their separate ways."

"That's unfortunately how a lot of Midgardian romance is."

Loki was silent for a moment, considering this. Then, he sighed and straightened in the couch. "Seems so foolish, if you ask me," he said, "Can't they simply be straightforward about their wants and desires?"

Beatrice smiled a bit. "Some people don't. They may be afraid of rejection, they could be shy..."

Loki glanced down at her and realized that she was trying not to look at him. He smiled to himself as he thought of the possibility that she might have been talking about more than just the show in front of them.

Beatrice felt a sense of connection with him. Maybe it was out of curiosity or otherwise, but she felt drawn to the fallen God in some way. Here he was; a being who had nearly conquered the world and he was suddenly so level and even with her. She had to know if his emotions were true or if they were a ploy. Surely they must have been; he was a master at his craft after all. Even if Beatrice could read his thoughts, she could never anticipate what he planned for the future as decisions were constantly changing in a human mind. It wasn't how her powers worked.

"Beatrice," he said, "I should be properly thanking you for hosting me."

She blinked out of her reverie and gave him a nod. "Oh! Yeah, no problem."

"Don't try to play nonchalant, Beatrice; you don't give yourself enough credit."

She smiled a little and stared down, seemingly shy now. "Loki, I know you-" Then, she cut herself off and looked up, suddenly alert.

Loki caught that look and frowned. "What is it?"

"Do you hear that?"

Outside, several SHIELD agents began approaching the house, heavily armed. Fury's voice filled the air from their headsets.

"Move quickly. She may not look like much, but she's not someone to be taken lightly."

Suddenly, Beatrice's windows were flooded with light and the two quickly jumped off of the couch, approaching one to see the agents positioned around the house. Beatrice's eyes widened in disbelief and Loki scowled furiously.

"What the hell?" she exclaimed.


	7. Taken

**Pandora's Box**

**Disclaimer: **I know, I know. *Facepalms* I bet you guys are all sick of OCXLoki pairings. Well, you're sort of in luck. This won't be anything too OC like that, but with be a reason for it's M status later. It's just an idea that was running around my brain begging me to write it. And damn it, it won't shut up. LOL. Well, this is (with much reluctance) my first Avengers fic I've ever written. As told from the aftermath. Well, if I have some things incorrect, I'll remind you it's my first shot so, if you see anything out of order, don't hesitate to let me know. It will also have a slight crossover with X-Men.

_"Remorse is virtue's root; its fair increase are fruits of innocence and blessedness."_

-William C. Bryant

_"Wickedness is a myth invented by good people to account for the curious attractiveness of others."_

-Oscar Wilde

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

_"He has disobeyed his king... his fate is in his own hands now."_

-Odin

**Taken**

Beatrice and Loki hadn't moved from their position at the window. So far, it didn't seem that the SHIELD agents could see them, but it would surely not take them much longer to make the first move. Milla was barking wildly and scratching another window. Loki grimaced and glared at her.

"Be quiet, you stupid dog!" he whispered fiercely.

Beatrice gave him a look. "That dog is not stupid."

"No, you're dog is incredibly stupid!"

"Hush! That isn't helping!"

Just then, there was a roar overhead that rattled the windows of the house and Natasha's voice filled the air. _"Loki, we have the house surrounded!"_ she announced, _"Surrender now or we will be forced to come in after you!"_

Beatrice's eyes went wide. "Are they flying a damn plane over my house?" she exclaimed.

"Well we can't just sit here, can we?" Loki snapped, "My brother surely had something to do with this and he will dearly pay."

Beatrice stood up and approached the front door. "Stay in here. I'll see what I can do."

Loki sighed with dismay as he watched her disappear outside.

Beatrice kept her hands raised as the SHIELD agents leveled their weapons at her. She smiled and studied each and every armored face watching her. Well, this was certainly a little more dangerous than she had anticipated.

"What are you all doing on my property?" she asked, her voice laced with an edge, "When I last looked, we usually knock before aiming guns at people."

Overhead, SHIELD's Helicarrier hovered through the clouds. On screen, in the central control room, Fury and the other agents could see Beatrice on the monitors from the field agent's helmets. Tony's voice filled the entire room.

_"Wow Nick; she's pretty cute. Not hot but...cute."_ he remarked.

A few agents laughed softly and Fury rolled his eye. "Be careful, Stark. She might look cute, but if she touches your suit, she can drain every bit of its energy. Maybe even the one keeping you alive." he advised, "So approach with caution and don't let her touch you."

Clint's voice joined in. _"Don't worry, director; Stark's had plenty of practice."_

_"Hey, Robin Hood. Don't test me, okay? I'm missing a big game because of this chick."_

Tony flew through the clouds toward Beatrice's house. He landed in front of her and she reacted with a faint grunt of surprise. Tony expected her to look a little more impressed, but instead, she simply smiled skeptically.

"Who are you supposed to be?" she asked.

"Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist," Tony told her, "Come on, you tell me you haven't heard of me."

Beatrice frowned when the mask on the metal suit retracted, revealing Tony's face. Slight realization lit her own features. "Oh yeah. I have." she said, "Aren't you that odd little rich guy whose family made all those impressive weapons?"

Tony smiled, mildly embarrassed. "Yeah. I'm kind of that guy."

"Well, nice to meet you, Mister Stark," Beatrice said, "But I'm not too happy to meet them. Tell them to get off of my property."

Tony grimaced and sucked his teeth. "Sorry. Can't do that." He exhaled at her mildly annoyed expression. "Look, I'm not too thrilled with these guys either. Trust me, none of them know a good time if it hit them in the face, but you're harboring Earth's greatest fugitive. So I think it's best that you hand him over to us."

"And I think it's best that you step away from me, Mister Stark," Beatrice warned, discreetly removing her gloves.

Tony exhaled. "Damn."

Beatrice moved quickly, just as the boosters in his heels activated. She grabbed his metal arm and began to drain the energy from the suit.

JARVIS' voice filled Tony's headset. "Sir, power is at 40 percent and dropping rapidly."

Tony grimaced. "Okay, time to play rough."

He wrenched Beatrice from him and took to the skies. The booster's flames singed her arm and she gave a shriek of pain before sending a blast of energy at everyone in sight. They quickly rushed and ducked behind their vehicles, managing to miss the blast. Loki watched in shock as Beatrice cried out in agony, gripping her blistering arm and dropping to her knees. Immediately, he rushed outside and raised his arms at the recovering agents rising with their weapons.

"ENOUGH!" he roared.

Beatrice staggered to her feet and Loki looked down at her arm. The skin was bright red around her forearm and bottom of her left hand, the area was also smoking and large blisters had started to form. Some parts of the burn were already charred. Her eyes stung with tears and she laughed slightly, trying to stay calm despite the unbelievable pain she was in.

"Does he always do that?" she muttered.

Loki tilted his head. "Do what?"

"Act so irritatingly uppity?"

Loki laughed slightly, amazed that she could maintain calm after nearly having her limb burned off. His smile faded as SHIELD agents moved around them, their weapons locked and loaded. Tony landed and aimed his blasters at them as well.

"Are we done here?" he asked.

Beatrice growled angrily, but nodded in defeat. "Yeah. We're done here."

O

They were brought on board the Helicarrier and placed into holding cells distinctly similar to Loki's when he had first arrived. Beatrice's hands were locked inside a pair of metal devices that prevented her from using her powers. Her burned arm was tended to and she wearily looked over at Loki in the opposite cell. He too seemed displeased as his hands were cuffed before he was tossed inside, but they had been "generous" enough to supply him with a shirt anyway. Beatrice exhaled and looked at the woman tending to her.

"You know, my taxes pay your salary," she snapped, "I think I deserve an explanation for this!"

The woman looked up at her with disinterest. "You'll get it eventually."

Once Beatrice's arm was wrapped up, the woman left the cell and locked it, leaving the two alone with a burly guard. Beatrice growled in frustration and shook her bound hands before angrily kicking at the glass. Loki had never seen her this unhinged before. It surprised him.

"Beatrice, I believe this is a new side to you," he remarked.

She growled and paced around her cell. "I don't like being locked up like this without a reason." She glared at the camera on them. "You hear me up there! I know you do! You had NO RIGHT to do what you did! NO RIGHT!"

After she grew tired of yelling, she took a spot on the floor of her cell before leaning back to look at the ceiling. Loki and Beatrice spent most of their time in silence before she suddenly laughed quietly. He looked at her, frowning.

"And what could possibly be funny?" he asked.

"Just thinking about some things," Beatrice said. She arched her brows. "How much do you think they spend on keeping innocent folks locked up?"

Loki sighed. "No one is truly innocent, Beatrice."

"Yeah, I know. But I mean, it's got to cost them something. I'd like to know where my tax dollars are going."

Fury and the others were watching the security feed as Loki and Beatrice continued talking. Fury was confused by the sight. Loki had never seen like the type to simply engage in conversation like this before. He glanced at Thor and the God returned his look.

"Has Loki developed a sudden epiphany while he's been on Earth?" he asked.

Thor frowned thoughtfully. "Not that I am aware of. My brother simply won't change on a whim. But I believe Beatrice must be working on him. After all, I haven't seen him this cooperative in a very long time."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Oh, cute. So she must have something for him. Wonderful."

Natasha looked interested slightly as she watched the monitors. "Maybe I can talk with her. See what I come up with."

"Good idea," Fury replied.

As they continued to discuss what they should do with Beatrice and Loki, the two prisoners began to talk about trust and learning to love others. Beatrice told Loki about how she had thought she was in love once, but the man left when he discovered what she was.

"The man I loved fell out of love with me. That broke my heart," she told him, "But I learned that if I kept on wondering if someone was going to break my heart or not, I would never learn what it would be like to live. I'd be afraid my whole life."

Loki exhaled impatiently. "Sometimes you can trust a person and foolishly leave yourself exposed to be wounded."

Beatrice looked at him. "Well, I wouldn't say that," she said, "It all depends on you. Like with your father and Thor. Maybe they don't forget about you, but they forget to remember you. People don't mean to forget; sometimes it just happens." She rolled onto her back and glanced up at the ceiling again. "You know, when I was a kid, my dad got me this awesome bike. I was afraid I was going to break it, so I kept it in a closet all the time. Do you know what happened? I outgrew it. I was never able to ride that awesome bike."

Loki gave her a look. "A person's heart and feelings are very different than a bike."

Beatrice smiled at him and shrugged her shoulders. "I'd like to think that they're kind of the same thing. If you won't use your heart, who cares if it gets broken? If you just keep it to yourself, maybe it'll be like my bike. When you do decide to try it, it won't be any good. You should take a chance anyway. You have very little to lose. Your heart might be pretty tattered, but it isn't gone. If it was gone, you wouldn't have given me the chance."

"I had little choice."

"No, you always had a choice, Loki. You just tell yourself you never did all the time. I offered my hand to you and you took it. You could have refused easily."

Loki chuckled softly. "Yes, I suppose I could have."

Beatrice giggled. "Do you know it's been a couple of years since I've had an intelligent conversation like this with someone?"

"Yes. Me too. You're quite good at it. You're not boring or have a vacant, deathly stare to your eyes. You don't mumble or spit like the servants I was forced to burden myself with. It's just a shame we have to engage this in such...conditions."

Beatrice nodded her head in agreement. "Well, we didn't do anything wrong. So we have nothing to fear."

"Currently."

She actually sounded amused now. "Yeah. Currently."

O

Beatrice was taken to another room to be questioned by Natasha while the others watched from a two-way mirror. Beatrice wriggled a bit in her seat and her cuffs rattled with her movements. She exhaled with a roll of her eyes and looked around.

"Can we eighty-six these things?" she said, "They're cutting off circulation to my hands."

Natasha flipped through a few folders. "No. The cuffs stay until we can be sure you won't try anything funny."

Beatrice leaned back in her chair. "You guys showed up threatening to tear my house apart and you don't expect me to be a little bit peeved about it?"

"That's not my problem," Natasha replied calmly, "The problem is that you've housed a dangerous fugitive in your home for a while now. Right now, they're talking about what kind of punishment they're going to put on you."

Beatrice arched her brows. "Really?"

Her calm demeanor surprised Natasha a little, but the woman was a master of her own craft, so she wouldn't so easily be swayed by it. She inhaled and looked down at the folder in her hands. "So, it says here you're a criminal psychologist." Her tone was laced with kindness, but dripped in a near condescending tone. "I guess I can't be surprised given your abilities. So you cheat at your job. I don't know whether to be impressed or amused."

Beatrice smiled and shrugged. "If you had an advantage to help others, you'd take it as well."

"Unfortunately, that's not my line of work."

"What exactly IS your line of work, Agent Romanoff?" Beatrice asked, leaning forward, "I heard your name float around here and I know you're trying to 'Shrink the Shrink', but I'm afraid that just doesn't work with me. There's nothing you have that you can hold against me."

Nathasha tilted her head, a seemingly fascinated look on her face. "Really? You think so?"

Meanwhile, as the two continued to talk, Loki was left alone with a guard who eyed him rather maliciously. Loki just calmly smiled as the man entered his cell, sensing that something bad could come out of this. Of course, he knew that there would probably be some who would feel the ache for revenge. Maybe this man was one of them. He had a scar across his face that dragged passed his nose and cheek. He had short gray hair and was probably much older than some of the SHIELD agents Loki had encountered.

"You know... I believe we've never had the opportunity to become properly acquainted, Loki," the guard said, with a smile and a slight German accent, "I'm Agent Adler." He paced slightly in front of the fallen God, "I'm sure you distinctly remember the events that happened here on this ship."

Loki smiled and nodded in agreement. "As if they happened yesterday."

Agent Adler didn't look so amused, but he still smiled and approached Loki. "I've spoken with the victims of your attack and was asked by a family member of one of them to give you this small token of our appreciation..."

He suddenly delivered a hard punch to Loki's abdomen, knocking the wind out of him. Loki lurched forward, letting out a gasp of pain.

"Compliments of recently widowed Madam Coulson," Agent Adler whispered, leaning forward. He gave Loki's back a rough, unfriendly pat. "That's called pain where we come from, Loki. And Madam Coulson was very specific when she wanted me to make sure you felt every bit of it."

Loki let out a cough and smirked, giving the Agent a particularly cold look. "When I get out of this, the only one who will be screaming in pain is you."

Agent Adler scowled and watched as Loki struggled to right himself. He couldn't believe that this fallen God could be so foolish. "What are you, some sort of fool?" he snapped, "Do I need to give you a further lesson in what you've caused all of us?"

Loki calmly lifted his chin in an act of defiance. "No God will ever plead for mercy from the likes of you!"

Agent Adler cracked his knuckles. "I hope to God you have a vivid imagination, Loki," he warned, "Because I want you to think all about it while I pound your face into the floor!"

The man grabbed him by the scruff of the shirt and punched him hard in the face. Loki took the punch with a dull laugh. "Come on now!" he sneered, "Is that all?"

Adler hissed with fury and punched him again.

"That was weak, Agent Adler!" Loki spat, blood dripping from his nose. "Come on! Show me more wrath than that!"

Another punch, followed by Loki's mocking laughter.

"Thank you, sir! Might I please have another?" Loki spat, cackling.

Adler's rage was growing and Loki could see it in his eyes as the man punched him again and again. As he raised his fist to deliver another blow, his arm was seized tightly by Fury's hand and he whirled, stunned to see his boss standing there. Fury glanced down at the bleeding Loki before frowning impatiently at Adler.

"_What_ are you doing, Agent Adler?" he asked, his tone hard.

"Teaching this mouthy little shit a lesson," Adler replied, his features and voice calm once more, "He deserves it."

Fury glared at him sternly as Adler released Loki. "You're breaking protocol, Agent. I suggest you leave right now and I'll have someone else replace you. It's clear you are not fit or in control of our prisoner."

Adler scoffed in disbelief and stormed out of the cell. "Fine."

Fury started to go, but paused and glanced halfway down at Loki who spat up blood on the floor. He made a disgusted face before walking out of the cell. "I need a medic in here now!" he ordered.

While this was going on, Natasha was listening intently to Beatrice's words. "As a psychologist, I'd like to know about you, Agent Romanoff," Beatrice told her.

"Why?"

"I find that even without my powers, people tend to display a lot of little details that give away who they are," Beatrice explained, "I look at you and I see a woman who has done so many terrible things. You see, I've always believed that the eyes broadcast every little thing about a person. So tell me about yourself, Agent."

Natasha glanced at the two-way mirror briefly before she sighed. "Fine. What do you think you know?"

"I believe that you were young when it happened," Beatrice began, lacing her fingers together, "Children who lose someone dear to them tend to have a very firm perception on detachment. You yourself must have had a parental figure whom you loved deeply, but lost by some tragic means. This is quite possibly the cause of your desire to keep others away. Fear of losing before it happens is quite common."

Natasha reacted slightly. "My father."

"Yes, your father. Maybe he had high expectations of you, perhaps he really wanted a son. So in doing so, you fought to please him; fought to make him smile. But that was probably not enough for him. He wanted to make you into something like he was. Maybe he had taken lives just as you did and he feared you wouldn't have it in you."

Natasha's eyes narrowed. "How did you-"

"Your first life taken was probably out of needed affection, but your father rebuked it. Probably considered it a cry for love and an act of weakness, perhaps even childish. Despite all of this, you wanted to prove him wrong. So you let him train you, groom you to become an efficient killer."

Natasha's gaze wandered a bit. "Yes, he wanted to make sure I could protect myself. But then he-"

Beatrice tilted her head. "He what?"

"He was shot and killed."

"Ah yes. By the Enemy, I assume?"

"You could call it that."

Beatrice leaned back, licking her lips thoughtfully. "And his death must have heavily impacted you. When his name is brought up, your pupils tend to dilate and you straighten where you stand or sit," she continued, "Obviously, despite his mad attempt to make you into an emotionless warrior, you still found some love for him. But the rest of the world didn't exactly love you. You were the daughter of a killer and so made that your niche. It worked well for you because you could easily make them share in your suffering. It would be simple too; you've had many years of training to act and pretend so they open themselves up. That way, you can hurt them the way you've been hurt."

Natasha stood up and looked toward the mirror. "Director? We're done here," she snapped flatly.

Fury exhaled at the sight. "I guess it's time for Beatrice to see the truth too..."


	8. The Truth

**Pandora's Box**

**Disclaimer: **I know, I know. *Facepalms* I bet you guys are all sick of OCXLoki pairings. Well, you're sort of in luck. This won't be anything too OC like that, but with be a reason for it's M status later. It's just an idea that was running around my brain begging me to write it. And damn it, it won't shut up. LOL. Well, this is (with much reluctance) my first Avengers fic I've ever written. As told from the aftermath. Well, if I have some things incorrect, I'll remind you it's my first shot so, if you see anything out of order, don't hesitate to let me know. It will also have a slight crossover with X-Men.

_"Remorse is virtue's root; its fair increase are fruits of innocence and blessedness."_

-William C. Bryant

_"Wickedness is a myth invented by good people to account for the curious attractiveness of others."_

-Oscar Wilde

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

_"He has disobeyed his king... his fate is in his own hands now."_

-Odin

**The Truth**

"Let me see him."

Beatrice had lost a slight semblance of patience with them and she was worried about Loki. She didn't know why, but as Agent Alder passed them, she had a feeling that something had happened while she was away during the interrogation. Fury however just shook his head and gave her a look. Beatrice caught that and suddenly realized that he had more on his mind that he wanted to tell her. As Natasha led her back to her cell, she noticed Loki wasn't there.

"Where is he?" Beatrice asked.

"Loki's being taken care of in the infirmary," Fury told her, "Agent Adler had a bit of a falling out with him. It seems that Loki's presence has reopened a few old wounds. He'll be back in a few minutes, but I have to talk to you right now."

Beatrice frowned as she was led into her cell. "Okay?"

"Why are you so concerned about Loki?" Fury asked, "You do realize what he's done, don't you?"

Beatrice nodded calmly, her eyes locked on the man. "I do."

As they started talking, Loki was being led back toward the cell with his nose patched up. The guard stopped when he realized that Fury waved a hand in the air silently out of sight, keeping him away for the moment.

"And why is it you're so worried about what happens to him?" Fury asked her, returning his attention to Beatrice.

She didn't reply and Loki wished that he could see her face. However, Natasha and Fury seemed to comprehend exactly the reason behind Beatrice's silence and her mildly uncomfortable shift in her spot. Natasha groaned and rolled her eyes, uttering a disgusted scoff and turned partway, seemingly tempted to slap some sense into Beatrice. The woman stood rigidly in the cell and watched her audience, knowing full well that she was being watched by the others.

"Oh God, Director Fury..." Natasha muttered. "I don't believe this."

Fury however, looked quite concerned. "And you're silence assures me that you might actually...feel something for him."

Beatrice was surprised by the lack of hesitation in her voice. "I do."

Outside the cell block, Loki felt himself smiling a bit.

"You know what he is!" Natasha shouted, glaring at the woman in the cell. "That...thing killed hundreds of people! He's a monster, Beatrice! You know there's nothing in him but lies and deceit! He probably doesn't even care about you, did you stop and think about that?"

Beatrice's throat tightened and her lips pursed. "Yeah, I did."

"And yet you still attempt to change him?" Fury asked, his voice remaining even, "You know someone like him can't be changed."

Beatrice chuckled softly and Loki could make out a change in her voice that made his flesh prickle. "Maybe neither one of you ever really tried," she said, "Maybe I want to be the one to try. Yeah, it's stupid, I know. I knew that the first day I realized who he was. I also know now that you stand there talking to me and going on about how he's the bad guy and the monster here, but right now? Right now, all I see standing in front of me are two complete liars, kidnappers, extortionists and opportunists trying to save their own skins."

Fury and Natasha frowned at her.

"We're trying to help you," Fury argued.

"Help me... right," Beatrice said, calmly, "You want to help, but I can see it in your eyes; you're judging me. You think I'm some sort of freak for my confession which is why you want to 'help'. You believe he must have had some way to convince me to feel this way as he had done before in the past. But you don't really know me as well as you believe. I can tell the wrong sort for myself."

Fury shook his head. "Beatrice, I don't believe you know yourself as well as you think you do."

Beatrice's brow knotted and she watched as the guards dragged Loki back into his cell before returning her attention to Fury.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

Fury looked over his shoulder and raised a hand. At that gesture, two people rushed up to the cell: Beatrice's parents. The cell was opened and they anxiously embraced their daughter. Loki recognized them from the photo and simply watched the sight with a bitter scowl.

"Mom? Dad?" Beatrice said, surprised, "They found you too?"

Fury nodded his head. "Why don't you tell her the truth, 'mom' and 'dad'?" he suggested, "Tell her the REAL truth."

Beatrice didn't like the sound of that and stared at her parents who looked guilty all of a sudden. "What's he talking about?" she asked.

Her mother exhaled and stared at her with pain in her gaze. "Honey...we wanted to tell you."

"Tell me what?" Beatrice demanded.

"Didn't you figure it out yet?" Fury asked, "They're not your parents."

O

Beatrice looked as if she'd been punched in the stomach. Loki himself actually reacted with veiled surprise. It seemed to take Beatrice a long time before she finally spoke, glaring at Fury with a disgusted look.

"This is the only thing you can come up with to get to me?" she snapped, "That's disgusting."

Her mother shook her head pleadingly. "Beatrice, he isn't lying."

Beatrice stared at her in shock. "What?"

"Their real names are Catherine Ross and Peter Berman," Fury explained, taking a folder offered to him from one of the agents; it was marked with CLASSIFIED on the side, "They were doctors working on a project that was discontinued 26 years ago due to complications." He paged through the folder before holding it up to Beatrice. There were photos of her "mother and father" tagged on the page with information regarding Project Pandora. "The project was started by the President of the United States in hopes of further study in the creation of super soldiers, gifting donors the ability to fight beyond their capabilities."

Beatrice backed away, shaking her head slowly as if she couldn't believe it.

"Doctor Catherine Ross and Doctor Peter Berman were heads of the project," Fury continued, "Most of the donors died within moments of exposure to radiation. So it was suggested through council that they needed to start from scratch and so they applied the same process to fertilized embryos. You were the only surviving embryo who grew and developed in the labs."

Beatrice stared at the two "parents" in disbelief. "Is this true?" she whispered.

They hung their heads with pain and said nothing, which clarified her question completely.

Fury went on further. "The staff of the project started calling you Pandora. Yet somewhere down the road, the plug was pulled on the project. I guess the top dogs felt you were a failure in some way and ordered that you be terminated." He watched Beatrice flinch with horror. "But I guess the two doctors here must have taken a liking to you. They took you away and murdered someone's child in your place to make it seem as if they'd gone through with it. They took to hiding and changed their names, using your talents as an excuse to call you a 'mutant', and helping you find the school to hone your abilities. I have to admit, it was a pretty clever scheme."

Catherine and Peter stepped toward Beatrice to console her, but she merely stepped away. Loki watched this scene with interest.

"Beatrice, please," Peter pleaded, "Know that you will always be our daughter no matter what!"

Beatrice stared at them emptily before letting out a soft laugh. Her eyes misted over as if she wanted to cry, but couldn't. "You know what's so bad about all of this?" she said, "I'm not upset. I know I should be angry, but I'm not. In fact, I'm happy to have been born into this world at all...alive and healthy despite what was done to make me." Her gaze hardened a bit. "But what I can't stomach is that you not only took the life of an innocent child to get us to this point; you spent every waking second of your lives looking me in the eye and lying about it." She laughed weakly. "I feel sick. I have never felt more inhuman than I do now."

The two looked torn now when she turned her back to them.

"Beatrice, please..." Catherine begged, "We only did all of this for you."

Beatrice exhaled and her voice was devoid of emotion, but clearly shook with pain. "Right now, I don't want to speak to you. Please leave me alone."

When the two tried to protest, Fury gestured for them to leave. They reluctantly left the cell and it was closed and locked behind them. Beatrice took a spot on the floor and was quiet for a long time. She closed her eyes and thought about everything she just learned.

It made her feel completely weak and disgusted.

Meanwhile, Catherine and Peter followed Fury out of the cell block.

"You didn't tell us she'd be kept prisoner," Catherine snapped, giving Fury an accusatory stare.

Fury paused and turned to face them. "Until we can decide that she is not a threat to the rest of us, she stays in the cell," he said, "You're just lucky that the World Security Council hasn't caught wind about all of this."

"You're not going to tell them, are you?" Peter asked, suddenly suspicious.

"Why should it matter to you?"

"Because she's still our daughter!" Peter spat, getting in his face now, "Regardless of everything, she is ours!"

Fury was silent, obviously contemplating the words and how true they may or may not have been. "We'll see."

O

Beatrice was still silent in the time that passed since she had learned the truth about her parents and herself. Loki remained quiet as well, feeling no need to speak to any of SHIELD's petty little drones unless it was to eat or perform typical mortal duties that were necessary to his biological functions. Beatrice spent a lot more time sleeping in her cell and she awoke when the lights of the cell were shut off, presumably for the night.

"Beatrice?" Loki whispered.

She blinked in the dark and looked at him, slightly able to make out his features in the faint glow of the other room. "Yeah?" she said, her voice soft and weak.

"Come here."

Beatrice frowned and wriggled toward the glass of her cell, watching as Loki did the same. He raised his hand to the glass and she tried to mimic the gesture, but couldn't do so as well given her bound hands. They were quiet for a moment before Loki leaned forward a bit.

"I would like to know if you meant the words you said today, Beatrice," he said.

She frowned. "What words?"

"The ones of me."

Beatrice was happy he couldn't very well see the faint blush on her cheeks. "It was stupid to say, I know," she murmured.

Loki's voice seemed slightly edged now. "Do you regret them, then?"

"No! Of course not! I don't say things I never mean," Beatrice argued, "I simply meant that I must have embarrassed you by saying them."

Loki wanted to laugh at that, but all he uttered was a soft snort.

They were silent again before Loki started up. "You are allowed to be angry at them, Beatrice," he told her, "I know you are so furious; but like all humans, you seem to adhere to a pointless sense of morality and judgment. Sometimes losing the precious control we thought we had...We end up learning something about ourselves that we never thought existed. We end up meeting the beast within ourselves..."

Beatrice leaned with her back against the glass. He did the same and they just sat in a back-to-back manner.

"Maybe control of my emotions is something that keeps me from losing it," Beatrice told him, "When I was younger, I tended to lose my temper all the time...I swore it would never happen again...I swore I would never let them get to me."

Loki glanced back at her halfway. "What changed?"

Beatrice sighed and closed her eyes. "When I was still in school, I always had difficulty controlling my powers," she explained, "Professor Xavier wanted to help teach me as he always did with young mutants. Back then, I was always frustrated and angry when I couldn't get something right. When I failed, I would get angry. When they laughed at me for my failure, I'd become furious. I tried to hold it in, but I think I held it in for too long. One day, there was this mutant who teased me a lot. I called him 'Shark Mouth'. When he finally teased me one too many times, I just...blacked out. When I woke up, I was standing over him and screaming. Let's just say that he had to spend several days in the hospital. Since then, I promised myself I'd never lose control again."

"That explains your calm demeanor in the face of mockery."

"It's not just that. I simply don't see the need to worry if others see me as a monster or not. Their words don't mean a thing."

Loki seemed to consider her words in silence.

"And why do you feel the need to be the one to...?" he pressed.

Beatrice was quiet before responding. "Because...everyone deserves a second chance," she told him, "And everyone deserves to know that they're loved by somebody."

O

The following morning-or at least the thought it was as the lights flashed on-Fury entered the cell block and stood in front of Beatrice's cell. She blinked and looked up at him calmly. He was silent for a moment, simply regarding her before he spoke.

"Your parents and I have done a lot of talking about the good you could do for SHIELD," he said, "They think you won't be a threat to anyone on this ship."

Beatrice shrugged her shoulders. "And what do YOU think?"

Fury sighed through his nose. "I think that I should be cautious, but the same was said for the other Avengers who joined this team."

Beatrice frowned and began to pace through the cell, deep in thought. Then, she stopped and gestured to Loki with a flick of her head. "If I get out, so does he."

"No." Fury said, simply.

"Sorry, Fury; this isn't a one-woman deal. You either take the whole package or every time someone comes in here, I won't play nice," she warned, with a smile on her face.

It was a fluke, Fury knew it. He glanced at Loki briefly before looking at her. "If he walks through this ship, he stays under close watch and remains handcuffed," he told her, "I won't waste my time trying to understand him or you, but if you think you have some sort of control over him; then be my guest." He leaned forward and his voice changed now. "But if I have any reason to believe he's going to put any of my men and women in jeopardy, then it's all going to be on you, understand?"

Beatrice nodded. "I understand."

Fury looked mildly pained and gestured to an agent standing there. "Unlock the cells."

After the cells were unlocked, Beatrice and Loki smiled broadly, following the men out of the cell block.

"You have quite the Silver Tongue yourself," he remarked.

"I guess I had a good teacher."

Loki could only chuckle at that.


	9. A Matter of Trust

**Pandora's Box**

**Disclaimer: **I know, I know. *Facepalms* I bet you guys are all sick of OCXLoki pairings. Well, you're sort of in luck. This won't be anything too OC like that, but with be a reason for it's M status later. It's just an idea that was running around my brain begging me to write it. And damn it, it won't shut up. LOL. Well, this is (with much reluctance) my first Avengers fic I've ever written. As told from the aftermath. Well, if I have some things incorrect, I'll remind you it's my first shot so, if you see anything out of order, don't hesitate to let me know. It will also have a slight crossover with X-Men.

_"Remorse is virtue's root; its fair increase are fruits of innocence and blessedness."_

-William C. Bryant

_"Wickedness is a myth invented by good people to account for the curious attractiveness of others."_

-Oscar Wilde

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

_"He has disobeyed his king... his fate is in his own hands now."_

-Odin

**A Matter Of Trust**

It was tiring.

Loki hated being around the Avengers as they were a blessed reminder of his failures. However, having Beatrice with him to help ease his mind did take the irritation away to a lesser degree. He also noticed that she rarely spoke with her "parents" in passing. It wasn't as if she had many opportunities given the fact that Fury had ordered they remain under close watch further in the testing labs, but when they passed Beatrice, she merely ignored them with an indifferent sigh and a shrug.

It was interesting for Loki to observe. Beatrice acted as if the two weren't even there and simply ignored their inquiries. When the two spent time alone to eat, Loki questioned her about her behavior, but she attempted to divert attention elsewhere. He found this amusing.

"Loki, I had an idea," she told him, "I often suggested this to a few of my patients. Record any and all negative thoughts that you might feel."

Loki stared down at the offering in her hands; a recording device that was obviously supplied by Fury. He arched his brows and took it in his hand. "What good will this do me, Beatrice?" he asked, giving her a skeptical look.

"I often find that the biggest problem with some people is they bottle their anger in," she explained, "If I'm not around with you all the time, this is a great way to clear your mind of any congestion and help you alleviate some of those dark thoughts you told me about. Some of my patients found it pretty helpful in the past."

Loki stared down at the recorder before smiling and offering it to her. "It seems to me that you require it more than I do."

Beatrice frowned. "This is about you, not me."

"I am constantly with you, so in a matter of speaking; it's about you as well."

"Loki, I don't want to talk about it right now."

"Perhaps you should."

Beatrice exhaled and looked mildly impatient. "Look, it's not-"

Just then, Tony entered the room and arched his brows. "Well, did I interrupt an intimate moment?" he asked, making his way to the microwave, "You'll have to excuse me; I tend to do that quite a lot. Usually when I find something amusing to watch."

Loki took the recorder from Beatrice's hands and spoke calmly, though with a certain rigidness to his voice. "I am suddenly stricken with an urge to wrap my hands around someone's throat until their feet stop kicking." he growled.

Tony turned halfway and blew him a mocking kiss. "Talking about me, princess?"

Beatrice rolled her eyes. "Mister Stark, I thought you were busy with Doctor Banner on that data or...something."

"Oh, I was! But you see, Hastings; even uppity rich boys need their nappy time once in a while," Tony said, smiling rather smugly as he shoveled a handful of popcorn into his mouth, "Besides, Fury was talking with your parents and told me to bail."

"And since when do you follow orders so well?"

"I don't," Tony said, "I just wanted an excuse to piss him off." He gestured to Loki as he said this.

Beatrice scowled and stood up. "Okay, get going," she ordered, "That's not helping."

"I'd like to see you make me."

Tony's words were an attempt to goad her, but Beatrice clearly didn't buy into it. She arched her brows and leaned close, wriggling her gloved fingers at him as he slowly backed away from the gesture. She smirked and did this until he stepped out of the room.

"You're playing with fire, you realize," Loki warned, "That fool never knows when to be silent."

Beatrice looked back at him before smiling. "They need to see I'm not a bad person. And they need to see it in you too."

Loki frowned at her. "Why do I require their approval?"

Beatrice walked up to him and slipped a finger through a loop in his cuffs. She jangled them a bit and he sighed, rolling his eyes, knowing full well the point she was trying to make.

O

"Attempting friendly conversation is a good start."

Loki was exceptionally bored as Beatrice began to teach him how to engage in conversation with others. He leaned against the counter and she was making a stick-figure demonstration with a piece of paper and a pen.

"So when you walk up to someone weaker than you, what do you automatically want to do?" she asked.

"Have them serve me, what else?" Loki snapped, shrugging as if she should have known that by now.

"No."

"If I'm superior to them, it is my right to assert my dominance."

"But how would that person feel?"

"Why should it matter?"

Beatrice let out a groan and dropped her head on the counter top. Behind her, a SHIELD Agent stepped into the room to get something in the fridge and Beatrice stood up with a smile. "Excuse me," she inquired the man, "Maybe you can help us with an experiment."

The man stared quizzically at her and he seemed partially cautious. "What is it?"

"Maybe you and Loki can engage in some 'friendly conversation' while I speak with Fury," Beatrice suggested.

The man glanced over at Loki who appeared to be distracting himself with a pencil in his teeth. He chewed slightly before grimacing and spitting the tip out onto the floor. The Agent had no desire to speak to Loki. Alone.

"I'm not staying in a room with him alone," the Agent told her.

Beatrice was already moving to the door. "It's okay. He's not going anywhere."

The Agent took a wary spot across the counter from Loki. The fallen God flashed him a particularly unpleasant smile that seemed to ooze with cunning. He leaned forward casually. "Would you like to hear a story, Agent?"

Beatrice stepped out into the corridors where she noticed Fury talking to Natasha. A smile lit her face. "Hey, uh, Director Fury?"

He looked over at her and frowned. "What is it?"

Beatrice leaned in the doorway, noticing that Loki was in the middle of a conversation with the Agent. "Obviously I should have known that when Geirrod realized our arrival he would have sent out Gjalp and..."

She looked up at Fury as he approached. "Hey, I had an idea," she told him, "What if I can somehow reform Loki entirely?"

Fury's brow went up. "Then I'd say that is quite an accomplishment."

Bits of Loki's conversation with the Agent could still be heard. "...and when Gjalp bled from her orifice in the river Vimur, it nearly drowned Thor completely in the viscous fluids. By this point, you can imagine that the stench was most ungodly and I suspected she must have had some form of infection as well because..." Beatrice frowned curiously and leaned in, noticing that the Agent was starting to look sick. "it took almost seven handmaids and masters to pick the putrid chunks from his armor...and by that point, there was a horrid infestation that..."

"I still can't trust him," Fury said, interrupting her thoughts, "Not after what he's done."

"Just give me a chance. Take them off and if he does anything, I'll take the blame for it all."

Fury was skeptical. "You'll take any blame for what he does?"

"Yeah."

Fury was silent for a moment before turning. "I'll discuss it with the others."

Beatrice watched as he walked away, her features mixed with worry and frustration. She paused and considered something before scowling after him. "You had better get my dog then!" she yelled at his parting back.

She stepped back into the room and noticed that the Agent Loki was talking to seemed like he was going to throw up at any second.

"What's going on in here?" she asked.

The Agent suddenly lurched forward and vomited at her feet. She recoiled from it with a yelp and looked at Loki for an explanation. He calmly shrugged his shoulders with the most innocent face he could muster.

"What?" he asked.

O

Catherine and Peter were standing with the Avengers as well as Fury, watching a security monitor as Beatrice seemed to be attempting to show dance to a newly freed Loki. She took his hands and pulled them, but he refused to engage.

"Hard to believe that was the same maniac who almost trashed the planet, huh?" Bruce remarked.

Tony snorted. "I don't trust him. He may be powerless, but he's not an idiot. He's probably got an ace up his sleeve somewhere."

"She gets once chance with him," Fury told them, "One chance. If he screws it up, then you are all free to handle it."

Thor just smiled as he watched Beatrice perform an elated spin. Loki folded his arms across his chest and said something before shaking his head furiously. Beatrice stopped spinning and shrugged her shoulders, saying something that actually broke a rare, amused smile onto Loki's face. Whatever it was, it must have been quite amusing because he seemed to attempt to cover his smile with one hand. For some reason, that made Thor smile himself. He wasn't used to seeing his brother happy like this in a long time.

"Perhaps he is not to be trusted," Thor told them, "But I am quite pleased to see that there is someone who can see beyond the hate and darkness that has clouded my brother's heart."

Natasha glared at him. "She's an idiot," she snapped, "She's going to get herself killed."

Steve argued that. "I don't know. She seems a bit off her rocker, but I think she knows what she's doing."

'Turn it up. See what they're talking about," Clint suggested.

In the room, Beatrice was showing Loki some dance moves. They performed sways from side to side and she encouraged him to relax into the beat. It was gentle and rhythmic and Beatrice began to urge him to talk some more.

"Tell me more about you," she said, "I'm sure you have reasons for hating Thor beyond just brother rivalry."

"For one thing, he let me plunge deep into Ginnunggap," Loki muttered.

Beatrice looked confused. "Ginnu-what?"

"Ginnunggap. It is the Yawning Void beyond the realm of Asgard," Loki explained.

"Oh. You should have just said that. My tiny mortal mind couldn't make sense of it." Beatrice giggled at her own joke. Then, she tilted her head thoughtfully. "So what else do you call your stuff anyway? I'm not a Norse buff."

"We refer to the end of the world as Gotterdammerung," Loki said.

Beatrice squinted and attempted to pronounce it. "Gotter-dam-rung?"

"Gotterdammerung."

"Gott-or-dam-rug?"

"_Gotterdammerung_."

She kept trying to pronounce it, but giggled as Loki reached up and took her cheeks in one hand, squeezing her mouth a bit to have her constantly mess up the word. Her cheeks flushed slightly and for once, Loki's smile wasn't one of cunning or venom. He shared a small laugh with her before removing his hand, leaving a lingering pass to her lips with one finger as he did. Beatrice blushed further at the gesture and lowered her head slightly. An act of shyness as usual.

"I am amazed you were able to persuade Fury to remove the cuffs," Loki said.

"Wasn't easy," Beatrice replied, "The guy is a font of misplaced rage. I'm not one to judge someone so openly, but I have this weird feeling he might be overcompensating for something."

Behind Fury, there were a few stifled giggles and he turned, glaring back at the others before returning his burning gaze to the monitor.

"And what else?" Loki inquired.

"I see a man who may have been loved too much or too little," Beatrice answered, shrugging her shoulders, "It's probably all pretty cliche as victims of some kind of suffering have. Maybe moments of levity for him hurts sometimes. So he decides that being angry all the time is much less painful. It's easier to keep himself on guard."

"And what of the others?" Loki smiled, seemingly knowing that they were being listened in on.

"Thor seems pretty nice. Well-behaved and mannered when he needs to be." In the room, Thor smiled with pride. "But he seems to be a bit...uh...dumb." The smile faded from the God's face and he looked annoyed by the scattered laughter in the room. "Not dumb in a bad sense but more of a, 'I have no idea how strong I am and I might unintentionally hurt others' kind of way. I think he needs to try a little humble pie. Those moments of arrogance might just be a way to prove himself though. Those in high areas of power usually have more expectations to satisfy, so I guess that's partially understandable in a sense."

Clint Barton seems rather level-headed. I don't get any sort of negative vibe from him. He seems like a man who simply puts duty above anyone else. Maybe he does this too much and misses out on other important things. Mentally, those who drive to put duty above others usually know only one lifestyle so the lines often blur in an attempt to form relationships. I didn't read their minds, but I have a feeling he and Natasha might have had something going on."

Clint stiffened where he stood and his features turned sour as everyone looked at him.

"How do you know?" Loki asked.

"Natasha's eyes usually tell me. It's as I told her; in my line of work, I can understand a person simply by watching the little things about them. In just the short time I've known her, her eyes tend to light up when he enters the room. When his name is spoken, she slightly rubs her fingers together, like she's savoring something. Or that she misses and craves what she once had. The hands can also display emotions as well."

"You understand people more than anyone would care to enjoy," Loki said.

Beatrice shrugged her shoulders. "I think it not only helps me, but helps them." Then, she brightened. "Hey, I'm starving. Want to find something to eat?"

"Certainly. I am quite famished. Hopefully we can find something suitable on this floating fortress of mediocrity."

"Doubtful. But the attempt will be fun anyway."

O

Thor was finally content to have a time to speak with Loki alone as the Helicarrier dropped into the sea. The SHIELD forces had to report to land to retrieve supplies from one of their bases and he found Loki standing at the edge of the ship, watching the setting sun in silent contemplation.

"What do you want, Thor?" Loki asked, not looking back at him.

"I want to talk to you about Beatrice," Thor said.

Loki half turned and smiled caustically. "Oh? And what is it you have to speak to me about her?"

"She is a pure-hearted spirit," Thor said, taking a slow step toward his brother, "I know you, Loki; there is nothing you would ever do for the sake of doing it. You would simply use this woman for your own gain. That is all you've ever been known to do."

Loki just shrugged with contempt. "Perhaps you don't know me as well as you arrogantly boast."

"I want to know your intentions with her!" Thor bellowed, advancing and grabbing his shoulder, forcing him to turn and face him.

Loki didn't look up at him for a moment. His eyes seemed to wander at his feet before he eventually smiled. "I would not harm a hair on her little head."

"Nay. Lie and lie some more, Loki. I only grant you this chance as she seems to believe there is hope for you," Thor told him, his gaze reflecting a glimmer of pity to it now, "I want to believe that as well, but your constant deceptions make it difficult." He gestured around him with a broad sweep of his arms. "How is this any different from before? How will you hope to chance our father's mind about your exile?"

"I don't hope for anything, Thor," Loki replied, bitterly, "I lost that ability a long time ago. The day you and Odin betrayed me."

Thor scoffed with disgust. He turned and noticed Beatrice a distance from them, standing at the other side of the ship in an attempt to capture what looked like a firefly. His harshness softened and he chuckled to himself.

"She's innocent, Loki. And she clearly feels something for you," he said, "Do not spoil such a blessing."

Loki watched Beatrice laugh with glee as the firefly landed on her nose. She cupped the small creature in her hand and studied it as it crawled up her arm. Her laughter brought a smile to his lips and made his heart swell just hearing it.

"But why would she ever feel for a thing like me?" he wondered.

"That clearly doesn't matter to her."

Loki thought hard about this. About the strange Midgardian he had grown to be fond of. About how she had warmed the cold depths of his heart with her charity and innocence.

_How amazing that I would feel again..._


	10. Thanos' Warning

**Pandora's Box**

**Disclaimer: **I know, I know. *Facepalms* I bet you guys are all sick of OCXLoki pairings. Well, you're sort of in luck. This won't be anything too OC like that, but with be a reason for it's M status later. It's just an idea that was running around my brain begging me to write it. And damn it, it won't shut up. LOL. Well, this is (with much reluctance) my first Avengers fic I've ever written. As told from the aftermath. Well, if I have some things incorrect, I'll remind you it's my first shot so, if you see anything out of order, don't hesitate to let me know. It will also have a slight crossover with X-Men.

_"Remorse is virtue's root; its fair increase are fruits of innocence and blessedness."_

-William C. Bryant

_"Wickedness is a myth invented by good people to account for the curious attractiveness of others."_

-Oscar Wilde

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

_"He has disobeyed his king... his fate is in his own hands now."_

-Odin

**Thanos' Warning**

"How long will we have to be here?"

Beatrice asked the question as she literally followed Fury everywhere on the Helicarrier. He was attempting to organize documents with Agent Hill and Beatrice's constant questions didn't exactly help in his concentration.

"Until I say otherwise," Fury told the woman.

Agent Hill gave Beatrice a faint smile. "That means a while."

Beatrice smiled sarcastically before looking back at Fury as he and Hill entered an elevator. "But can't you just stop and listen for a-"

"This discussion is _over_, Hastings," Fury responded sternly.

Beatrice watched in disbelief as the elevator doors closed and she snorted before walking away. On the way down the corridors, she could see Steve Rogers gathering a few things from his room before he caught sight of her. He smiled and it didn't seem as all unfriendly or phony in any way. Beatrice felt herself smile in turn because she always had a sense that Steve was a bit more outgoing and polite than most of them.

"Hey," he greeted, "Is Director Fury giving you a hard time?"

Beatrice sighed. "I think everyone is."

"With good reason. You've got Loki running around here Scott free." Steve told her, "You haven't seen the things he's done like we have."

"I have, Steve," Beatrice argued, "I've seen into his mind. So I know what he's done."

Steve reacted slightly with a mild grunt of surprise.

"But I've also seen what led up to it," Beatrice added, "It's so easy to assume and judge when someone does something wrong because you don't see what led them to it. Villains aren't born, Steve; they are made. I've seen it many times. No one is born or adherent to evil. It has to be taught."

Meanwhile, Loki sat alone on the outside of the ship, listening to the calming waters. He could hear the sounds of excited voices and looked back, surprised to see Jane Foster and Darcy walking up to Thor. Jane threw her arms around him and he laughed, returning the embrace. Loki smiled bitterly at the sight and across the distance, Thor caught the look. He frowned in confusion before turning his attention to Jane as she began to talk with him.

_"Oh...how sweet..."_

The deep, powerful voice of Thanos whispered in Loki's head, making his flesh prickle with fear. He looked around for signs of the Titan, but saw nothing. It was impossible for him to reach Loki without the use of his powers. How could he receive it as a mortal?

_"I am aided in many ways, Asgardian," _Thanos whispered, _"I want what was promised me. I will get it by any means."_

Loki attempted to ignore the voice.

_"You can pretend to ignore me, Loki. Or you can pretend that I won't break your precious monster Beatrice in half." _A dry laugh filled his head when he felt Loki's sudden tension. _"Oh yes, she feels for the pitiful fallen God, doesn't she? I can take her in place of the Tesseract. I can pull her apart and spray her blood all across the universe if I desired so. I can also shred her very consciousnesses to ribbons and have her break apart from the inside."_

Loki let out a groan when he could see the gruesome images of Beatrice's corpse at his feet. He tried to shut them out, but Thanos pushed them further, letting him hear Beatrice's screams of death in his head and the sight of her mangled corpse in the golden Titan's claws.

"What do you want?" he whispered, hating the weakness in his voice.

_"I. Want. The. Tesseract."_

"I don't have it!"

_"Then get it. Depart from Beatrice and stray from this foolish path. Or else I will take her and show her what it really means to scream. Perhaps even introduce her to my lover, Death."_

Loki nodded his head, feeling sick. "Very well, you savage beast!" he spat, to the sky above.

He only felt Thanos' cruel laughter in reply.

O

Jane was interested in Beatrice's abilities. So much that they made a game to see just how far back Beatrice could see into her memories. Darcy didn't like it when she was offered too, but decided to partake even after the pressing from the two women. Beatrice told her everything that she saw, even the most embarrassing parts of Darcy's life that earned laughter from her as well as everyone around them. Natasha didn't exactly look happy.

"Wow, nice," Darcy remarked, "I bet that'd be real useful in the lottery."

Natasha smiled with contempt. "Don't give her any ideas that cheating is a good thing."

Beatrice smiled back and shrugged her shoulders. "So Thor isn't cheating? Banner isn't cheating and Steve isn't cheating?"

"We've all worked hard to get where we are," Natasha snapped, "You received your abilities because they were handed to you."

It was Steve's turn to smile. "Ma'am, I believe I hear jealousy in your words."

Natasha gave him a dirty look. "How would you feel about a bullet in your backside?"

Loki was making his way through the corridors to find Beatrice and could hear the others talking in the meeting room. He paused at the doorway to hear the conversation. Clint was apparently in the middle of a story.

"...yeah, you'd never survive travel. I'll give it three days tops and you'll be in the belly of anything from a killer whale, to a minnow!" he said.

"And you'd be first on the menu, muscles," Beatrice laughed.

Darcy chuckled and glanced at Beatrice now. "Hey, Thor told me the story between you and his brother," she teased, "I'm only thinking the same thing everyone else is here thinking." She made her voice light and ridiculous. "'Beatrice, why are you tagging along with a psycho, and not going out with someone who DIDN'T try to blow up the planet'?"

"Maybe because she's in to freaks..." Clint muttered, "He's just lucky I've got self control or I'd stick an arrow in his eye socket right now."

Beatrice scoffed in disbelief. "You're all pretty swell, aren't you?"

"So it's true then?" Jane asked, "You feel for him?"

"Yes, I do."

Loki once again felt a smile light his face, but this confession only made him hurt inside. He knew it would only make matters worse when he had to do Thanos' bidding.

Jane seemed to be slightly pleased. "That's great!" she said.

The others reacted in surprise to her exclamation. "It is?" they questioned.

"Yes. Beatrice is right about one thing; everyone deserves to be loved and given another chance," Jane told them, "Maybe she's crazy enough to do it. Everyone thought I was crazy when I hooked up with Thor, remember?"

Beatrice's face was slightly reddened. "I wouldn't call it a 'hook up'..."

They all felt some amusement in her embarrassment. They stopped chuckling when Loki stepped into the room and fell silent. Beatrice looked at him and was surprised by his presence. Just how much had he heard?

"Beatrice, I need to speak to you alone," Loki told her with a mild edge, turning to go.

"Now?" Beatrice asked.

"Now."

They watched him go and Darcy wagged her eyebrows at the woman. "Not a hook up, huh?"

Beatrice blushed harder and followed Loki down the corridor. She looked up at him and found his features unreadable. "Loki?" she said, "Where are we going?"

"Somewhere no one can hear us."

Her eyes widened when he took her arm and pulled her into a utility closet. This was not what she had in mind! She turned as he closed the door behind him. "L-Loki, this isn't exactly how I thought it was going to happen!"

He frowned at her words. "Beatrice, you misunderstand me," he said, "I brought you here to stay out of the watchful eyes of Fury and his little pawns. I'm only here with you to talk."

Beatrice relaxed a bit, but was still slightly red around her cheeks and neck. "O-Oh. Okay."

Loki stood silently, his eyes wandering up and down. _I've lied before. Why is it so difficult now?_ It was hard because she had genuine trust and faith in him, something no one had ever given willingly. He didn't deny that she would probably give herself physically if he so requested it. Now she was watching him, unwittingly waiting for him to pretty much destroy that faith that she had granted. Destroy everything she had given him.

"I wanted to tell you that I no longer require your services," Loki said, in his most professional voice he could muster.

Beatrice smiled slightly, confusion in her voice. "What do you mean?"

"I mean it is not going as I had wanted."

Loki's tone indicated that something had indeed changed since they last spoke. Now, he talked as if he was done with something and was throwing it away. For some reason, this made her insides tighten in fear.

"You are doing something to me that I don't like," Loki continued, his emerald eyes taking on a harder gleam as he forced himself to lie some more. He never realized how hard it could be for him to do so up until this point. "Something that's changing me. I don't like how it feels and I do not like feeling confused either. I'm not myself and I know you have a desire to change me for the others. I cannot allow that to happen."

Beatrice laughed in disbelief, her voice edged with fear. "Loki, I did that to keep them off your back. I wasn't trying to change you completely."

Loki sounded impatient now. "For your sanity and mine, I will be blunt; you've become a burden to me, Beatrice," he snapped, "And I do not approve of burdens, especially ones as ridiculous as the likes of you." _What are you doing? That's more than this creature deserves. _"Ones who make me out to be a fool where I deserve much better."

Beatrice's eyes were mildly widened in shock by his words. They seemed to prickle with pain that she tried to restrain.

"And why should you care how I feel of you anyway?" Loki sneered, pushing that button over and over, "You said so yourself that the words of others are of no consequence. So why should this be any different?"

"It's different because I-"

"Because you _what_?" he hissed, leaning closer to her now, his eyes shining with frustration, "Because you PRETEND to care for my well being? I'm no fool to your games, Beatrice. After all..." He smiled, putting on the most realistic cruel face he could. "What makes you think a God could ever claim you as his when he has had more than his share of supple flesh at his command?"

Beatrice blinked and searched his face for something. She reached up and started to remove her glove, but he grabbed her wrist, stopping her. "No. You will not touch me now or ever again."

She swallowed thickly before giving him a sad smile in response. "Okay, I see," she finally said, quiet and resolute to his words, "I never meant to freak you out or anything like that, but I guess the more I think about it, the more I see you're right. There would probably be others better off to help you."

The self-defamation made his throat tighten and he struggled to control his facade.

"Sorry for wasting your time then," Beatrice told him calmly, "I'll just...uh...get going."

Loki nodded and stepped aside, allowing for her to step out of the closet. He remained there for a while, feeling as if he deserved to be locked away for the rest of his life.

O

_Note_-Short chapter is short! D:


	11. Helicarrier Attack

**Pandora's Box**

**Disclaimer: **I know, I know. *Facepalms* I bet you guys are all sick of OCXLoki pairings. Well, you're sort of in luck. This won't be anything too OC like that, but with be a reason for it's M status later. It's just an idea that was running around my brain begging me to write it. And damn it, it won't shut up. LOL. Well, this is (with much reluctance) my first Avengers fic I've ever written. As told from the aftermath. Well, if I have some things incorrect, I'll remind you it's my first shot so, if you see anything out of order, don't hesitate to let me know. It will also have a slight crossover with X-Men.

_"Remorse is virtue's root; its fair increase are fruits of innocence and blessedness."_

-William C. Bryant

_"Wickedness is a myth invented by good people to account for the curious attractiveness of others."_

-Oscar Wilde

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

_"He has disobeyed his king... his fate is in his own hands now."_

-Odin

**Helicarrier Attack**

Thor always had the Tesseract.

There was no way he would give it up so willingly. Loki had to formulate a plan of how he would have Thor deliver the Tesseract to Thanos. Maybe if he performed it that way, it would seem that he was not the culprit in the attempt. But the more Loki thought about it, the more he didn't want to carry out Thanos' demands. After all, the being had promised him kingship and failed to deliver his promise, so why should he keep up with his end as well?

Loki thought of telling Thor about Thanos, but would he believe him? Possibly not. Loki had none of their trust.

His mind then went to Beatrice. She hadn't spoken to him since their talk yesterday and he found that he hated this more than ever. Beatrice's words and humor had always calmed his frayed nerves, but he disposed of her to simply keep Thanos from harming her. If Thanos believed that Loki had no interest in the woman, he could not use her as a tool to threaten him with. Loki felt frustrated by this because he truly delighted in the mortal woman, but he didn't understand why. He had never felt feelings for anyone other than himself and it bothered him that such a small, bizarre creature could capture his eye so quickly.

The day after that, she still hadn't spoken to him. Loki could see along the sidelines that she requested to be tutored by Clint and Natasha on self-defense after Natasha's little issue regarding "cheating". Beatrice wasn't very good at hand-to-hand combat, but she seemed quite skilled at distance with a bow and arrow the way Clint taught. She learned fast an easy and they decided to help her learn in that area since it was her strength.

Loki watched as she shot at targets with Clint's bow. She was smiling, but her eyes didn't match. They were filled with sadness; the sadness that he had been responsible for. She barely laughed and when she did, it seemed forced.

The following day, she STILL hadn't spoke with him and Loki was getting restless. He hated this silence. No one else would speak to him because they absolutely despised him. Thanos was in his head constantly, warning him about his lack of patience.

_"I grow impatient, Asgardian," _Thanos warned, _"I will retrieve the Tesseract myself if you cannot."_

"How?" Loki sneered, sitting alone in one of the washrooms, "You're far from Midgard and with no means to reach it."

_"Do not be so certain. I believe my army still lingers here..."_

The remaining Chitauri? They were all but useless without a leader. Loki didn't question Thanos' abilities all that much, but surely even HE was not capable of doing something at such a distance away from Earth without some form of way to reach it. As far as he knew, the Tesseract was the only tool he needed to reach other worlds and that was completely out of his reach. Loki just smiled and thought of how easy it would be to simply forget his deal.

_"That would be...unwise..."_

The next few days consisted of Loki without Beatrice's voice once more. Had she truly taken his words at heart that much? He began to regret everything he said to her and internally hated himself for how much he needed to hear her voice again. How much he wanted to hear her laugh. He hated how pathetic his need was. It must have been this weak mortal body. Perhaps it needed more than what his Asgardian form did. Or maybe it wasn't that. Maybe he wanted to feel the warmth of another in a way he hadn't felt in so long. Though instead of a simple false smile and lustful prize, she was a willing participant and he had thrown that away.

Again.

That morning, Loki wandered into what the Midgardians referred to as "the cafeteria" and found Beatrice in the middle of conversation with Jane and Thor. He stood at the doors, watching them as Thor gave Jane a long embrace. Beatrice watched them with a weary smile and patted Jane's back, seemingly bidding her a fond farewell. Loki felt a bit disgusted to see that Beatrice was obviously friends with Thor's woman of interest.

"Well, it was wonderful to have you here for a time anyway," Thor told Jane, "I will be sure to visit you as soon as I can."

Jane smiled. "Maybe we can plan that trip to Asgard someday."

Thor's smile was absolutely brilliant. "I promise you anything."

Jane looked at Beatrice and the woman tried to put on a sincere smile of happiness. "I'm happy for you, Jane," she told her. "Now, should we get ourselves a drink before you go?"

"Okay!"

Thor finally took notice to Loki watching the scene and frowned, gesturing to the sight of the two women leaving with one hand, obviously indicating that he should approach. Loki simply gave him a foul grimace and walked away. Thor looked mildly confused by this, but instead of considering it for a moment longer, he scowled and followed his brother.

"Loki!" he said, "Stop."

Loki exhaled impatiently and rolled his eyes, turning to face him. "What?"

"Why haven't you spoke with Beatrice lately?" Thor asked, "She hasn't returned the gesture either. Something has happened between you two that you are not telling anyone." When Loki refused to look at him, Thor softened to a slight extent. "Why can't you tell me what plagues your mind, brother?" He put a hand on Loki's shoulder, a gesture that Loki realized wasn't as wrong as he had thought it would be. "I don't care who or what you are; you are my brother no matter what and I want to help you."

"I so foolishly want to believe that."

"Loki. Tell me."

For a moment, Loki felt a small prickle of temptation to tell his brother of Thanos. Despite the promises Thanos had made, Loki had no real desire to have been partners with the Titan, much less his slave. But things had become rather complicated for him. Would they be able to stop Thanos as they had done him? Loki barely had a chance to formulate a response when there was suddenly an alarm that pierced through the entire ship.

Loki and Thor looked up at the sound.

"What is that?" Thor asked.

"I would assume nothing good," Loki replied.

O

Vast Chitauri troops soared on their hover-like skimmers toward the Helicarrier in the clouds. Weapons systems attempted to shoot each and every one of them down, but it didn't seem to be enough as the celestial warriors were already making their way onto the ship. It became chaos as agents and the Avengers made their way to battle. Fury spent the second of his time shooting Loki an accusatory stare as he and Thor appeared before him. Thor caught on to the look and turned to his brother angrily.

"Is this your doing, Loki?" he demanded.

Loki snorted. "Do I LOOK to be in control of them?" he demanded.

"They must be after the Tesseract," Fury said, making his move for his gun, "We can't let them get it."

Thor nodded and summoned Mjolnir to his hand. "Not to worry. We will send these foul creatures back to where they came from!" He grabbed Loki by the scruff of his shirt and practically dragged him down the corridor. "You're coming with me!"

"Unhand me, you gargantuan fool!" Loki spat, as he struggled to maintain his footing from Thor's yanking. "As difficult as it must be to assess, I am not currently responsible for what's going on at this moment!"

Thor stopped and frowned impatiently, releasing Loki. "Explanations can come later," he promised, "Right now, I am looking for Jane!"

Currently, Jane and Beatrice were hiding themselves in the bar as several Chitauri threw their weight against the doors. Jane looked at her desperately. "What the hell are they?" she demanded, "Do you know?"

"I don't know," Beatrice whispered, "But I need something powerful to drain or we're going to have problems."

She removed her glove and looked frantically around for something. She spotted several appliances and began to drain them through her hands. Jane watched this in shock while listening to the door buckle beneath the might of the Chitari. It wasn't going to be long until they managed to get inside. Beatrice stood up and raised her hands at the door. They were bright blue and crackling with energy. She looked at Jane and gestured with a flick of her head.

"Take cover!" she ordered.

Jane nodded and ducked behind the counter top, just as the door was violently yanked open. Beatrice took aim and unleashed a blast of energy from both hands, sending several Chitauri soldiers flying back out through the door. They let out dying shrieks and Beatrice continued to take aim and shoot them down as they tried to pour inside. Through the smoke, something whistled toward her and pierced her in the abdomen.

Beatrice uttered a grunt of shock and Jane cried out in horror. "Beatrice, no!" she shrieked.

Beatrice staggered back, staring down at the otherworldly knife embedded in her lower body. She let out several shocked gasps before gripping it and yanking it out. Immediately, her shirt became soaked in her own blood. The pain was sharp, but seemed to dull quicker now that she was more focused on the swarming beings emerging inside.

"Jane, run!" she shouted.

Jane took the chance to escape the room, hurrying to seek help. Beatrice was immediately overrun by four Chitauri soldiers as they brutally kicked and punched her until she collapsed to the floor. Her hands scrabbled at them and she caught flashes of images in her mind. Chaotic sights of mere drones and a being of golden armor. He had a purple face and was standing over them, issuing his brutal commands to them.

The Chitauri let up with their assault for a moment, staring down at the breathless, battered creature. One of them stepped his foot down onto her throat and she groaned, gritting her teeth and squirming beneath the creature. They let out cruel, dry laughs as they watched her struggle in a vain attempt to drain energy from a dishwasher so close to her fingers.

Beatrice felt the foot press down harder and her head throbbed as the very blood was slowly being cut off. She struggled to breathe, but it seemed that no matter how hard she tried, she was losing consciousness.

_No. I can't die to these things. I can't!_

Suddenly, something whistled through the air and the Chitauri above her was pierced brutally with an arrow. The others looked back with angry screams and they too were shot down with arrows embedding themselves into their skulls where the armor was the thinnest. Beatrice moaned and rolled to her side, letting out several hoarse coughs as her savior moved to her side. She regained her senses and noticed that it was Clint.

"Hey, no time to give up now!" he told her, helping her stand, "Get up and fight back!"

Beatrice grinned painfully. "I'll get back to you on that in a second. I just need to cough up some blood."

O

The remaining Chitauri outside of the Helicarrier fled the battle on their hover crafts, snarling and gurgling their promises of return, no doubt. The dead were left to be collected by the SHIELD agents and the wounded tended to. Fortunately, there had been few casualties and no deaths to report. However, Fury was still not impressed with what had happened regardless. His attention was diverted immediately to Loki.

"I want to know what you're up to!" he spat, in his face, "Why did they attack us?"

Loki calmly smiled. "As if I know."

"You know, goddamn it!" Fury shouted, grabbing a fistful of his shirt, "You either start talking or I put you in a hole with Banner for a few hours!"

"Fury, wait..."

Fury turned and noticed Clint helping Beatrice into the meeting room. "He's telling the truth for once," she said, not even looking at him. Her tone was flat and emotionless. "I touched one of them. I saw they were in command to someone else."

"Who?" Fury demanded.

"I don't know who it was exactly, but they called him Thanos."

Tony scowled. "And who the hell is Thanos?"

Thor was the only one who reacted at the name. "I know of him," he whispered, stunned, "Father told us stories of the great warlord Thanos. How he has conquered many worlds in his journey through the stars. I did not believe them to be true until now."

"So what do we do about this 'Thanos' guy?" Steve asked.

As they were talking a battle strategy, Beatrice didn't even give Loki a second look. He felt frustrated by this until he noticed her wounds and felt a sense of alarm, but Beatrice didn't acknowledge them at all. She simply started talking with Clint about how he saved her life and that she was grateful. Natasha put a hand on her shoulder and also properly congratulated her as well for her protection of Jane in the onslaught.

Beatrice didn't smile for a moment until she laughed dryly. "It's funny, isn't it?" she said, in an acidic voice, "How easily I become your friend when I do what you want."

Natasha's smile faded. "What are you talking about?"

Another caustic laugh. "Don't pretend like you don't know," she snapped; her voice was beginning to get the attention of the others, "I was the enemy to all of you one minute and now you're warming up to me like I'm the hero." Her features became something mixed with sorrow and anger. She nearly spat her next words. "WELL I'M NOT! I'm not your damn hero! I didn't ASK to be your hero because you felt the need to snatch me out of my paradise and into this hell! So don't patronize me! I want to-"

Suddenly, she doubled over and vomited onto the floor. Immediately, two SHIELD doctors moved at her side and she weakly rebuked them, but seemingly had no strength to continue to fight their tending arms. One of them looked down at her soaked abdomen and up to her worriedly. The sight made Loki frantic to go to her and he did, kneeling at her side. She refused to look at him and seemed to be unable to as her eyes slowly started to roll into her head.

"Stop, I'm fine..." she breathed, "Don't."

"Beatrice Hastings, you've lost a lot of blood." one of the doctors said, "We need to get you to the medical lab."

Beatrice groaned as they started carrying her away. "N-No. Help...others..."

"There is help for them. Now try not to talk."

O

Many SHIELD agents and staff were sent to the medical hall and the room was nearly crowded with people when Loki arrived later the next day. He had been on edge about Beatrice's health for a long time and was constantly assured that she was going to be fine. Thor and Fury were spending most of the time discussing matters of Thanos and they had wanted to ask Loki for what he knew, but he refused to tell them anything until he was sure that Beatrice was okay. Fury surprised Thor by agreeing with him and Loki begrudgingly thanked him for his patience.

Once he was permitted to enter the medical hall, the doctor guided him to Beatrice's bed in the far corner of the room nearest a window. She was being tended to by a doctor and Loki waited until it was okay to approach once the man was finished. Beatrice was sitting up in bed, her lower abdomen patched up and her wrist connected to a tube of fluid that led to an IV stand beside her. Most of her facial bruises were cleared up and she had a small butterfly bandage over her nose. She was staring emptily out the window, lips slightly parted. If anything, she almost looked tired.

"Beatrice?" Loki said carefully.

Beatrice didn't respond. She continued to stare out the window, unable to bear the idea of staring at a man who she felt clearly hated her and when she felt nothing but adoration for him.

Loki swallowed thickly and tried again. "Beatrice, I am..." He uttered a weak laugh. "pleased to see you well."

A soft, bitter laugh answered him. "Don't lie to me..."

Loki looked stunned. Something about the blankness and emotionless manner of her words struck him deeper than he wanted to be struck. "It is no lie," he insisted, "When I saw them take you away, I swear that I felt something I never felt before. I wanted to hope against all hope that you were-"

"Stop!" Beatrice spat, glaring at him. "Stop trying to make fun of me."

"I'm not making fun of you!"

Beatrice's gaze was one of anger before it drained and she looked tired again, staring out the window. "You made it clear to me what you wanted, Loki," she said, quietly, "I don't see why you're wasting your time with a _ridiculous thing_ like me." Hearing those words made him flinch as if they'd slapped him across the face. "And I don't want to be your little burden any longer, remember?"

Her cold, flat words wounded him in ways he had never allowed himself to be. He didn't realize that hearing them from someone who had always been so happy and carefree would sound so poisonous and pitiless. He took another step forward, wishing he could reach in and repair the damage he had done. Beatrice told him she had been in love once before and had it taken away. Now when she opened herself to him, he scattered her soul to pieces. Loki felt a need to pull them all together again.

"Why do you do this?" she whispered, meeting his gaze with a look so full of pain, he had to jerk his own gaze away, "Why do you hate me?"

"I don't hate you!" Loki hissed, eyes wide like a desperate animal.

"No. Maybe I was a fool after all," Beatrice admitted numbly, "Maybe I became desperate and stupid to think I could have someone as..." She cleared her throat and it sounded dry from when the Chitauri stomped on her neck. "...Well, a God."

She still thought of him as a God. She considered herself less-than worthy of him and revered him in a way that no other had.

And he had ruined it all.

"Leave me alone," she whispered, turning to stare back at the window.

Loki didn't know how long he'd spent standing there, but eventually, he made his way out of the hall.

Leaving her to her wounds.


	12. The Chitauri Threat

**Pandora's Box**

**Disclaimer: **I know, I know. *Facepalms* I bet you guys are all sick of OCXLoki pairings. Well, you're sort of in luck. This won't be anything too OC like that, but with be a reason for it's M status later. It's just an idea that was running around my brain begging me to write it. And damn it, it won't shut up. LOL. Well, this is (with much reluctance) my first Avengers fic I've ever written. As told from the aftermath. Well, if I have some things incorrect, I'll remind you it's my first shot so, if you see anything out of order, don't hesitate to let me know. It will also have a slight crossover with X-Men.

_"Remorse is virtue's root; its fair increase are fruits of innocence and blessedness."_

-William C. Bryant

_"Wickedness is a myth invented by good people to account for the curious attractiveness of others."_

-Oscar Wilde

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

_"He has disobeyed his king... his fate is in his own hands now."_

-Odin

**The Chitauri Threat**

Thor and Loki sat alone together in the cafeteria. The sensation of their closeness was a bit uncomfortable, but Thor didn't seem to feel that way so much as he was beginning to take a drink from a pitcher of beer. After Thor pressed him many times to talk, Loki finally relented and told him about the issues he had with Beatrice and how he felt parting with her was necessary to keep her safe. Thor was stunned by Loki's move.

"I fear she may never again speak to me," Loki finally said, "But Thanos is sure to cause her harm."

Thor looked concerned. "Do we have any reason to believe you may return to him?"

Loki let out a caustic laugh. "No. My alliance with the Titan was merely a charade to begin with," he murmured, "I see that now. I was reluctant to partner with him, but I felt my options were limited given my perilous journey." He looked at Thor with a sarcastic smile. "Surely even you in all your purity can see that something like me had to find solace in the Void."

"But with Thanos? You're mad!"

Loki chuckled and stared down at his hands. "Yes. I suppose."

Thor glanced at him briefly before smiling to himself. "Loki...do you remember that time when we were children and you removed all of the heads from the statues in the healing wards?" he said.

Loki stared at him strangely. "As I recall you were the one who joined in on the prank as well."

Thor pretended to be thoughtful. "No. No. That was all your doing. I didn't have anything to do with it."

"I didn't see you trying to stop me either," Loki snapped, though his tone wasn't as threatening as it had often been. If anything, he looked annoyed, but a much more subtle annoyed. "And I also recall you painting those caricatures of the Warrior's Three on the walls as well!" He laughed bitingly. "Father was furious. And who did he put ALL the blame on? He put it on me. I was sent to bed with no dessert for a month! You were always getting me into trouble."

Thor smiled slightly. "But if you recall as well; it was I who would sneak them to you on that month of punishment."

Loki's anger melted a lesser degree and he sighed, letting out a small chuckle. "I suppose you did..."

"And remember Volstagg?" Thor asked, smirking. "How he would try to persuade the handmaidens for extra rations?"

Loki shared a small laugh with him. Then, his laughter died and the coldness in his eyes was back. But this time, it seemed to be coupled with pain. "Do you think that if you wheedle me back with tales of our childhood, it would be the same between us?"

Thor's smile disappeared as well. "Why can't it?" he asked, "When those around you offer love, you rebuke it with talk of your slights and hatred."

"Because you know as well as I do that it is a lie," Loki said, flatly, "And one good lie deserves another."

"And what of Beatrice? Does she deserve the treatment you've put on her?" Thor asked; when he watched Loki's mildly alarmed glare that he attempted to cover up, the Thunder God continued, "Yes. I may be a warrior of great force, brother; but I can surely understand that you have hurt her by looking into her eyes and seeing the way she avoids you. Though I do not understand what she did to merit such a thing. Would you hold her accountable for the misdeeds of others? Or of your own fear that she would ultimately reject you in the end?"

Loki stood up and wanted no more to hear of this. "This conversation is at an end, Thor."

"Don't run from it, Loki-"

Thor had started to rise, but Loki whirled so fast, he nearly lost his balance on his chair. The fallen God of Mischief's gaze was so poisonous, if he still had his magic, it could have very much burned Thor's head off.

"I will NOT be dictated to!" he spat, "I will not be threatened! I am a God! Not some petulant child whom you can play father to." He turned roughly and started to leave the cafeteria. "You've picked a fine time to pretend as if you care."

Thor simply watched him go with a heavy sigh. He was later joined by Tony who took a casual seat beside him. The man propped his feet up onto the table and tilted his head, watching the direction that Loki had gone.

"Ah, don't sweat it, blondie-locks. There's always one in every family." he told him.

Thor rubbed the bridge of his nose and sounded exhausted. "What am I going to do with him?"

A wry smirk touched Tony's face. "I have a few suggestions. But none that won't keep me out of jail."

Thor gave him a partially amused and reprimanding look.

O

Most of the time spent on the Helicarrier those passing days were of repairs and discussion for how to deal with Thanos. Loki was relieved to no longer hear Thanos' words in his mind, but also concerned as he had no reason to suspect that the Titan would so easily forget about their bargain. He knew that something was wrong, but in the days that passed, Thanos had made no attempt to contact him, which practically drove him mad.

Beatrice had recovered slowly and could now walk about, but required the use of a cane temporarily until she could properly walk again from the assault inflicted on her by the Chitauri. Loki could see her through the medical hall with Natasha and Clint. He could even hear their conversation through the blinds as they weren't too far from where he was standing. It appeared that Clint offered her her own bow and arrows to which she accepted with awkward amusement.

"You pretty resilient," Clint remarked, smiling in a friendly manner, "For a woman who's never fought like that."

Natasha gave him a chiding look before looking at Beatrice with actual honesty. "What you did was courageous," she told her, "Jane appreciates it as well."

"Did she leave today?" Beatrice asked.

The two Agents nodded their heads.

"She had to," Clint replied, with a serious look now.

Beatrice seemed to sit in silence for a moment, toying with the top of her cane before she looked up at them apologetically. "Hey, I'm sorry about what happened in the meeting room," she said, "You know, when I yelled and all that..."

Natasha and Clint glanced at each other before laughing in disbelief.

"We were all a little shaken by the attack," Clint said, "It's normal to feel a little frustrated with people sometimes."

"That wasn't what was on my mind."

"Really?" The two Agents looked doubtful.

Beatrice smiled sheepishly. "Well, it was on my mind, of course," she admitted, "But it wasn't what I was thinking about at the time I freaked out in the meeting room. I was thinking about how much I was afraid. Not exactly of the Chitauri but..."

"What else could it have been?" Natasha asked.

Beatrice's lips parted slightly, seemingly alarmed before she lowered her head with a sigh. "It's over and done with," she said, standing, "It's no big deal now."

For some reason, seeing her wince and struggle to lean on her cane made Loki feel the need to go to her, but he rebuked the thought. In fact, the more he thought of her, his arrogance took control and the angrier he felt. Not at her in general, but the fact that she suddenly had such audacity to treat him the way she was. He was a God! It should have been in his right to use her as he saw fit and be done with her as needed!

Beatrice made her was from the medical hall, leaning on her cane and leaving the two Agents to talk alone. Loki followed her until he was sure no one would see and grabbed her arm.

"We need to talk. Now." he ordered.

She glared at him, but made no move to protest as he led her into an unoccupied laboratory. When he closed the door, he paced around the room to make sure no one was inside before whirling to face her. Beatrice stood strong and glared up into those furious green eyes. For the moment, Loki said nothing and just stared at her, contemplating what he was going to do. He wanted to yell and scream, but for some reason, couldn't. But he was still very angry.

"You certainly place yourself in high regard if you feel I would ever be subject to your silent treatment, Beatrice," he hissed.

She uttered a scoff. "I thought it was what you wanted. Was that all a lie too?"

Loki tensed, his hands tightening into fists. He couldn't believe just how exposed he felt in front of a common Midgardian woman. Well, she wasn't so very common as the rest, but still someone who could have been beneath him.

"No. It really wasn't..." he mumbled, in a soft voice that was barely audible.

Beatrice smiled bitingly. "Is that how easy it comes for you?" she snapped, "To simply push away anyone who is genuine enough to want to help? And not only that, I actually..." She gritted her teeth and uttered a frustrated groan.

Loki stared at her with lips curled in a sneer. "So you're not as high-and-mighty as they say you are."

Beatrice's frustration diminished and now she looked dead serious. "Let me tell you something, princess," she said, pressing the end of her cane into his chest, "I spent the good of my time with you, exercising more patience than I ever have with anyone." She began to back him up toward a table. "I asked for nothing in return because when I saved your life, I had nothing to ask for and still do not ask for anything. I set my expectations so low, they're six feet under." Her features twisted with frustration again and she tilted her head at him. "And now, when I tried to show you any kind of kindness, you slap me down?"

Loki stared down at the cane pressed into his chest before smiling with contempt. "So there is a little bit of a deviant in you after all."

Beatrice scowled at him before she sighed and lowered the cane. "No. There's a little bit of a person in me who...despite everything...still holds you in the highest regard." She snorted and turned, starting to go. "And I'm completely out of my mind."

Loki grabbed her arm, just as she stepped out of the room. "Wait!"

There were two workers standing in the corridor when they noticed this. Their eyes slightly widened and the other two met their gazes. Loki scowled at them. "Is there something the two of you wish to add?" he snapped.

The workers quickly shook their heads and walked away. Beatrice glanced down at the arm holding hers and wrenched out of it, walking away and leaving him to ponder what had just happened.

O

Fury watched from topside as several Agents were dragging something in cuffs and chains toward him. Adler was also among them. When they drew closer, it became clear that the thing they were holding tightly was in fact a Chitauri warrior due to the armor and markings along its body. The creature's head was covered with a sack. He stared up at the Agents for an explanation and they smiled with satisfaction.

"We caught one of them," one of the Agents said with pride, "We figured we could get the information we need from him."

Fury knotted his brow and removed the sack from the Chitauri's head. Blue blood soaked its skeletal, reptilian face and its eyes were closed. "What happened to it?" he asked, looking at Alder now.

"It took several doses of tranquilizer to take it out," Adler explained, "Figured when it wakes up, we can beat some information out of it."

Fury nodded his head. "Take him to the lab."

The Agents dragged the unconscious Chitauri to the laboratories. When the news got to everyone that there was one of them inside the Helicarrier, Fury ordered the Avengers to come to the lab as well as several doctors. They strapped the creature down onto an examining table with extra restraints to take precaution against its strength and most of its armor had been removed. Its flesh was leathery and covered in bizarre markings.

"Ugh, what is that smell?" Tony muttered, covering his nose.

"Guess they never figured out how to come across deodorant," Banner remarked.

Then, the claws of the Chitauri twitched slightly and its eyes flashed open. Everyone stepped back a bit on reflex, watching as the Chitauri studied its surroundings, maintaining a strange calm for something that was imprisoned.

Fury took a step close to the creature. "Do you understand me?" he asked.

The Chitauri looked up at him and uttered a sick, chattering sound in response.

"We're not going to have a pleasant conversation, are we?"

Once again, the creature responded with several clicks and chatters to which Bruce immediately thought of a solution of. "Wait," he suggested, "What about Beatrice? She can read mind, can't she?" When they looked at him, he shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe we can bring her in here and see if she can translate for us."

Fury raised his hand to one of the doctors in the room and the man rushed out. Moments later, Beatrice entered the room with Loki tailing behind her. When they saw the bound Chitauri soldier, they looked surprised, though Beatrice's reaction was far more obvious. Loki merely reacted with a slight widening of his eyes and a forced swallow. The creature met their gazes and let out a reptilian hiss, but made no move to try and escape.

"What's going on?" Beatrice asked, "How'd you catch one of these things?"

Fury exhaled. "It seems we've come across a bit of a language barrier," he told her, "We need you to be a translator of sorts. Think you can handle it?"

Beatrice stared down at the Chitauri and a look of uncertainty crossed her face. "I didn't exactly enjoy touching their minds the first time."

"Unfortunately, we need to understand their plan," Fury argued gently, "Since Loki here is obviously in the dark as the rest of us, you're the only one who can read minds here." He gestured to the Chitauri on the table. "It has to be done. There's no other way."

Beatrice still seemed reluctant, but relented after a moment of hesitation. She offered the cane she leaned on to one of the doctors and approached the end of the table, standing over the Chitauri's head. The creature looked up at her with its reptilian gaze, hissing softly and seemed to comprehend what was about to happen as its gaze flickered with a hidden, bizarre light. Beatrice reached out with two hands slowly, placing them over the creature's temples and her own eyes closed.

Everyone in the room waited, tensed as Beatrice's head slowly moved back. Finally, her eyes opened again and they were no longer human, but pools of empty black. Those in the room stared at her for a moment and watched as she seemed to look around. Loki stood behind Thor, tensing at the sight. Fury caught the look before he returned his gaze to the situation at hand. He leaned forward and spoke carefully.

"Can you understand me?" he asked.

Beatrice looked at him and when she spoke, it was detached and devoid of any emotion. It was almost surreal and disturbing and when she spoke, the Chitauri chattered at the same time. It almost seemed as if she was no longer in control of herself. "Yes. I understand you."

"Who are you?" Fury asked.

"We are the Chitauri," Beatrice responded, in that monotone voice, "We are beings who need nothing, but desire everything. We are one in the same. The Chitauri live as one and die as one. We are a singularity... We are your death."

"Okay," Tony snapped, watching as she slowly turned to him, "So why did you come to Earth?"

"We came for the Tesseract. As promised to us by the Asgardian... Loki."

Loki tensed when Beatrice looked at him. She smiled, but it wasn't a smile that she would normally make. It was...hollow. "The deal was that I would try to retrieve the Tesseract," he snapped, "But your army has failed me as has its master."

Beatrice laughed, a dry, pitiless sound. "Asgardian...will you continue to make excuses for your own pathetic faults?" she sneered, "How utterly amusing. You were never in control of us. One so pathetic as yourself could never hope to achieve what our master had planned." She looked at them all now, slowly moving her head as she seemed to consider each and every face. "We know your hearts...your human desires and your weaknesses."

"We've beaten your army!" Steve snapped, stepping forward.

Beatrice's mouth quirked up at the corner. "You have defeated a mere handful of soldiers, Steve Rogers. The reality of our might is much...much worse than you can fathom. There is more and always will be more." she explained, "The war within the human city was merely a test to uncover what you were capable of. And we've learned everything." Her eyes landed on Tony in the corner. "Anthony Stark, a self-made hero born and raised in wealth amassed by war and greed. Arrogant and reckless. You would doom your own kind through such emotion.

Steve Rogers. Your heart is filled with compassion and love, and yet, who praises you for your efforts? You fight in the name of your country and your class, but do they look to you with gratitude? Do they smile and thank you for the life you risk every day? No. You're a puppet to their will, Steve Rogers. You smile every day when you arrive in the scene, but do they smile back at you? No. They rely on you, burden you with their problems."

Bruce Banner. The blood-thirsty monster who hides himself in the flesh and guise of a man. Your body is strong, but your will is ill-tempered and uncontrollable. You possess the strength of hundreds, yet you waste your gifts on the weak and the petty. How do you feel when they stare at you, seeing the beast you try to hide? What must it be like to exist with the eyes of judgment constantly bearing down on you?"

Natasha Romanoff, the woman raised only for the sake of murder. A hollow, broken toy who lives in bitterness and despair. You are weaker than those you judge, always dwelling in the past and bringing it to your present plate. Your mind is trained to bring about constant destruction to unsuspecting victims, all at the cause of your government; who are much weaker than any of your kind. How fascinating of a choice..."

Clint Barton, the warrior with the eyes of the hawk. You too share a similar cause; fighting for your country's political power. How fascinating that you would be led on a leash by lazy, unadmirable leaders. But then, consider your love for Natasha... Oh yes, we know of that too. Love...It is such a peculiar emotion for you to become burdened with for a comrade who is trained to use love as a weapon to kill her enemies."

Now, Beatrice looked at Loki. "And you...Loki. Prince of Asgard. We know your heart and we have seen its dreams, its pains...and its fears."

Thor looked at Loki, who appeared tense. "Loki. Do not listen to the creature!"

"You were least loved by the God who you once called father," Beatrice continued, "Least loved by your own family who preferred your brother. They brought the enemy into their court, even though they claimed to love you. How could you compare to the Mighty Thor? He who has always surpassed you according to the Asgardian code, he who has earned the favor of every woman he crosses paths with; even mortal women prefer his company over you."

Loki's lips tightened with increasing wrath. The others looked at him, wondering if he was going to lose it. Yet, the voice continued without consequence.

"They were much better off without the Jotun blood contaminating their precious courts, weren't they? Much happier than they could have been now. And what of this woman standing before you? Her heart desires you, but she would want someone better, wouldn't she? What are you, Loki, son of Laufey, compared to the rightful king of Asgard?"

Thor scowled. "Loki, it lies!"

"Odin confesses it when he is alone with his wife; he would have preferred only Thor as his son," Beatrice purred, the Chitauri seemingly understanding the nerve was being hit, "Maybe Beatrice would prefer him too. Who wouldn't prefer him? What woman would take you? You are nothing, Loki Laufeyson. And soon, the world around you will be nothing when we take it. Loki Laufeyson is...nothing. Nothing... Nothing...nothing..."

"No!" Loki spat.

Beatrice's face distorted with a grin and she sniggered wickedly. The Chitauri below her laughed along with, a dry sound. Finally, the laughter could no longer be endured by Loki and he seized a sharp scalpel on one of the trays, stabbing it into the Chitauri's chest with a fierce roar. The creature twitched and let out a screech of agony to which Beatrice was snapped out of her spell. The others quickly surrounded the sight and doctors pushed Loki away.

"Well thanks a lot, princess!" Tony snapped, glaring at an equally infuriated Loki, "We don't even know what their plan was!"

Beatrice shook her head violently and seemed as if she was attempting to control herself again. "H-He was blocking me somehow," she said, shock and alarm in her eyes, "I couldn't see his plan, but I felt it..."

"Felt what?" Fury asked her.

"Hate."


	13. A Night To Remember

**Pandora's Box**

**Disclaimer: **I know, I know. *Facepalms* I bet you guys are all sick of OCXLoki pairings. Well, you're sort of in luck. This won't be anything too OC like that, but with be a reason for it's M status later. It's just an idea that was running around my brain begging me to write it. And damn it, it won't shut up. LOL. Well, this is (with much reluctance) my first Avengers fic I've ever written. As told from the aftermath. Well, if I have some things incorrect, I'll remind you it's my first shot so, if you see anything out of order, don't hesitate to let me know. It will also have a slight crossover with X-Men.

_"Remorse is virtue's root; its fair increase are fruits of innocence and blessedness."_

-William C. Bryant

_"Wickedness is a myth invented by good people to account for the curious attractiveness of others."_

-Oscar Wilde

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

_"He has disobeyed his king... his fate is in his own hands now."_

-Odin

**A Night to Remember**

Beatrice had to speak to Fury alone after the incident with the Chitauri. Of course, he insisted that Agent Hill be present and Beatrice was too weary to care enough to argue. Loki was meandering about in the background of the central control room, but she didn't care.

"I want to know who gave away my location," Beatrice asked, "Was it Thor?"

Fury looked mildly surprised by the random question before he exhaled softly. "This may come as a surprise to you, Beatrice; but Thor didn't tell us anything we hadn't already figured out. Loki had been spotted in Boston, but we didn't know EXACTLY where he was," he explained, "Who actually disclosed your precise location was a woman by the name of Brooke Albright. She was questioned by our Agents and she seemed very willing to give up all the information we needed."

Loki had obviously caught that and looked up sharply from his spot over a computer monitor. Beatrice's reaction stunned him; she actually didn't look as angry as he thought she would. Instead, she seemed rather...disappointed.

"Oh..." she finally said, quietly, "I see."

"Beatrice, you have to understand," Fury told her gently, "The woman was absolutely terrified out when we told her everything and spilled her guts. She insisted that we not harm you, but my Agents made no promises."

She blinked slightly, seemingly fighting off the irritation in her voice, but failed. "Well, did your Agent at least have the courtesy not to scare the children?"

"My Agents reported no others present at Beacon Hills."

"Well that's good. At least they had _some _sense." Beatrice turned to go, but not before slouching her shoulders. "Thanks for telling me."

Fury and Agent Hill watched as she walked away before Agent Hill spoke. She noticed that Fury wasn't really looking at her anymore and was staring at Beatrice's parting back. "Director Fury? We need to discuss a plan."

Fury nodded his head. "Bring them into the meeting room in a few hours," he told her.

Loki glanced at them briefly before departing from the control room and following Beatrice's path. He was almost led to the cafeteria before bumping into an Agent whom he had never met before; he looked young, far too young to be considered for such a position. The man smiled sheepishly and seemed a bit embarrassed by his near collision with the fallen God.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" he stammered, "I didn't see you coming."

Loki grunted, distracted. "It's fine, really. Step aside."

He started to move around the man, but the Agent stepped in his way. "Um, I thought I should say that I don't believe what everyone says about you."

Loki smiled sardonically and once more tried to step around him. "Flattered, but I really must-"

The Agent persisted. "Do what you feel you need to," he encouraged.

"I fully intend to, now begone," Loki ordered, brushing him aside.

The man blinked in surprise as Loki walked away into the cafeteria, finding Beatrice sitting alone on one of the benches at a table. A cafeteria worker was moving about behind the counter, but paid no mind to that. It seemed as if the worker felt the same and resumed his menial task of cleaning dishes. Loki took a moment to hesitate by the door before he approached Beatrice, taking a spot beside her on the bench.

"Hey," she said, quietly.

He smiled slightly. "You shouldn't hide," he told her, "It only makes them gossip even more."

Beatrice uttered a small snort. It was hard to tell if it was amused or not. "I'm not worried about their gossip, Loki."

He arched his eyebrows and leaned his head to one side. "Then why are you hiding?"

"I'm not. I'm just..." Beatrice chuckled sheepishly. "Sitting in a room by myself and hoping no one comes in to find me."

Loki sat in silence, furrowing his brow as he considered those words. Beatrice glanced up at him from the corner of her eyes and chuckled. When he realized that she was simply joking with him, he managed a weary smile and rolled his eyes to the ceiling. How strange that things no longer felt tense between them in the way that they had a while ago. "You have a very bizarre sense of humor, Beatrice," he told her.

They sat in silence again for a few moments.

"I want you to understand something," Loki began, glancing down at his hands, "I do see how you would find hatred for me after the way I had spoken to you. I'm not new to having others loathe me. But I should also-"

The entire time, Beatrice grimaced and held up a hand. "Whoa, whoa, stop," she said; when he did and looked at her, she shook her head, "I don't hate you." A small smile touched the corners of her lips. "If this is your way of apologizing to me, then I accept."

Loki scowled indignantly. "I do not apologize to anyone. I am simply stating that your hatred for me is warranted."

"So...you're saying that it's okay for me to hate you, you'd understand why after what you said, but...you're not apologizing?"

"Don't contradict me."

Beatrice smirked slightly and shook her head.

Once again, they sat in silence before she spoke now.

"I'm not angry at Brooke for what she did," Beatrice said; when Loki started to protest, she held up a hand, "I'm not angry. Maybe a little disappointed that my friend could turn on me like that, but I can see it from her perspective too. She was afraid, Loki. When people are afraid, they tend to do stupid things. Well, maybe Brooke's actions weren't COMPLETELY stupid, but I can safely say that when we get out of this, she and I are going to have a long talk."

Loki murmured softly before he looked down and reached out, placing his hand over hers. Beatrice looked down and at first, he was concerned that her reaction to his presence and touch would be a repeat of the few days ago; however, she proved his uncertainty to be false when she actually smiled and didn't pull away.

"I must be insane," she murmured, rubbing the back of her neck with the other.

"No. You may be one of the most sane creatures I have encountered in my thousand year life," Loki responded.

Beatrice glanced up at him and her smile disappeared slightly. The faintest hint of red touched her cheeks and a change came to her eyes that brought an odd shiver to Loki's body. How unusual that such a look would wrought a reaction like that from him. Then, he could feel a pull toward her, but rebuked it for the moment.

"Beatrice?" he said, "Why did you save my life?"

She smiled and shrugged. "What could I do? Let you die?"

"You could very well have."

"But I didn't."

"No, you did not."

Loki was silent before he looked at her. She met his gaze and was startled by the intrigued, almost thirsty stare looking back at her. "Take off your gloves," he said.

Beatrice blinked slightly. "Why?"

"I want to indulge my curiosity is all," Loki replied, with a small shrug of his shoulder.

Beatrice's heart suddenly sped up for some reason and she swallowed thickly before resting her cane off to the side. Then, she slowly peeled off both of her gloves and set them down onto the table. She was startled when Loki reached up and took her left hand into his. He seemed to be studying her hand, fascination lighting his face. He tilted his head somewhat and just stared at the hand in his, palm up toward him.

Loki found that her hands were quite lovely; the very epitome of femininity. The fingers were long and the hand smooth, obviously well-taken care of. The nails were slightly long, but not as much as some women's nails were on Asgard. He glanced up and noticed that Beatrice was watching him with rapt attention, her chest slightly heaving beneath her shirt. A light smile touched the corners of his lips as he began to wonder just how sensitive her hands really were.

"I recall you saying you have delicate hands, Beatrice," he murmured thoughtfully, "Would you mind if I put my curiosity at rest and test that theory?"

She looked up at him, slightly flustered. "W-What are you going to do?"

Loki reached up and began to trace the inside of her palm with one finger in response. The touch was gentle, almost sensual and it drew a soft, barely audible gasp from the woman. Loki looked up, watching her with an intrigued smile as he continued moving his finger softly over her hand. Her eyelids closed halfway and her lips parted in shuddering sighs. How fascinating...

"I see," he said, his voice dropping lower, "What if I were to try something else?"

He moved slowly, taking her hand toward his lips and watching her to see if she would stop him. She didn't try and just watched his actions, a slightly louder gasp escaping her when he kissed the tips of her fingers. It was a featherlight touch, but enough to send searing pulses of heat through her body. Beatrice uttered a quiet moan unbidden and Loki looked up at the sound, smiling at the corners of his mouth. His eyes had become a darker shade of green as he leaned forward, bringing his lips close to her ear.

"I do wonder though; what other parts of you are equally as sensitive as this?" he whispered.

Beatrice's eyes closed with a shuddering groan in his ear. "L-Loki, I don't-"

"No. You won't," he interrupted, a rather possessive sound, "Not tonight."

O

It was strange how Beatrice found herself in this position; lying in her bed with Loki on top of her. They were both fully clothed still, lips joined in a kiss of intense need, rolling together roughly and their heavy, rough breaths mingling as one. Both were slowly losing themselves in the sensations of their touches, the taste of their mouths. His hands were moving slowly down her sides in an excruciatingly subtle manner. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and could smell the sweet scent of his obviously freshly shampooed hair.

It was so odd how Beatrice felt content in his arms. A moment ago, she had felt lost after her command of bidding him away. Now that she was lying with him, she felt nothing but relief; everything else just felt forgotten-their entrapment on the Helicarrier, the attack and the Chitauri threat. It had been a while since she welcomed any man in her bed, but it wasn't at all frightening in the slightest. But even then, she still had her wits about her.

Loki's thoughts were to this offering beneath him. Such a willing offering that he had rebuked before. Only for her sake as Thanos would surely find some way to use her against him for his faults. But he couldn't stop himself. How long it had been since he felt the warmth of a woman's touch. How long it had been since he had a willing offering. For now, he just wanted to take everything she offered him without any further thought.

"Loki, wait a moment..." she whispered.

"Why?" he asked, his voice slightly heavier in the darkness of the room.

Beatrice pushed his shoulders back and he glared down at her, face filled with accusation. She just chuckled. "I want to have _some_ kind of light."

"Oh..."

His features relaxed somewhat of their dour expression and leaned back a bit, allowing her to wriggle from under him to adjust the setting of the light switch beside her bed. The light near them brightened to a slight degree, allowing her to see the dark, almost predatory look in his eyes. He leaned forward, his lips parting slightly. Beatrice raised her hand and brushed some of his hair behind his ears. Loki sighed softly at the touch and closed his eyes.

"Do you accept me?" he asked.

Beatrice cocked her head. "What?"

He took her hand and pinned it above her head-an abruptly aggressive gesture. She looked startled by it for a moment before he leaned forward, bringing his lips to her ear and whispering it at the deepest register. "Do you. Accept me?" he asked, punctuating his words slowly and with the barest hint of desperation.

Beatrice moaned quietly. "Yes..."

Loki moved his mouth across her cheek, sending a hot, electric current pulse through her skin. When his mouth contacted hers, they both uttered involuntary sounds, their lips rolling together with need and growing hunger. Beatrice laced her fingers into his hair and he murmured against her mouth at the pleasing, tingling sensation. When he nuzzled her mouth open, she responded and he let out a deep, possessive sound in his chest, moaning when her tongue rose to meet his.

Finally, they parted to allow themselves a change to calm down. Loki's hands began to move to the buttons of her shirt and without breaking eye contact, started to open her up before him. His gaze looked almost black in the dim light.

"You will have no other," he whispered, "I will be yours and you will be mine alone."

Beatrice chuckled softly. "In the caveman sense?"

"No," Loki said, seriously, "Now take off these wretched Midgardian pants."

When her shirt was finally opened and her pants off, he gasped softly. Beatrice watched as his seemingly mesmerized gaze focused on her exposed flesh. She felt a twinge of heat in her nether regions as he observed her like an appreciative predator.

It was odd to have anyone look at her like that-after all, she didn't think that she was the image of perfection-but apparently Loki did as he looked surprised, lifting his gaze up to her before leaning forward, dancing his fingers over her naval-minding the stitching-before moving to the spot between her breasts.

"You have a magnificent body," he hissed, "Why would you hide it from me?"

Beatrice let out an embarrassed sound. "I'm sure you've seen better."

"You constantly fail to give yourself enough credit, Beatrice," Loki reprimanded softly against her lips, "You have a form that would put some of the finest in Asgard to shame."

"Oh please. I doubt that."

Loki growled softly against her mouth. "Then let me put your doubts to rest..."

He shivered at the feel of one of Beatrice's legs sliding up, brushing against his side. He moved one of his hands to her chest, stroking the flesh of her left breast, gently taking it in his hand to feel the soft roundness of their shape and the hardened nipple stabbing into his palm. His breath slightly hitched against her mouth and he carefully fondled the soft flesh for several moments as he kissed her. Beatrice responded with a shiver and a moan. When he lowered his mouth to toy with one of the nipples, she arched her back somewhat with eager anticipation.

"Mmm," Loki purred, laving his tongue around her nipple, "You're rather responsive to my touches. I like that."

Beatrice didn't know what to think of that, but fortunately, she didn't have to when he began to suckle her. He did this for a few moments before turning attention to the other nipple; she uttered a quick gasp of pleasure, her hips unconsciously arching. Even the sounds of his sucking caused a warm blush to touch her cheeks. When he lifted his head and the nipple left his mouth with a small popping sound, he met her gaze with a predatory, mildly flushed smile.

"The best is yet to come, dear Beatrice..." he told her.

Beatrice's grin wasn't mocking or teasing in the way that Loki had been used to seeing. Instead, she seemed to restrain excitement and dare he even admit it...the reverence that he so rightfully deserved as a God and King of Midgard. "I don't doubt it," she said, pink rising to her cheeks, "You are a God, after all."

Loki was intrigued with how she still saw him as a God despite his obvious touch with mortality. Still, he didn't want to speak of it any further as he worked to be rid of his Midgardian clothing. She watched him eagerly the entire time and when he was fully unclothed, took the time to marvel at his naked flesh. Once again, Loki anticipated the mockery he was so used to, but Beatrice continued to shock him again. She smiled, eyes half-closed with pleasure and raised a hand, but paused and looked up at him, almost as if she was seeking his permission.

"Touch me, you silly girl," he growled, trying not to laugh.

Beatrice gave him an amused look, but also seemed reassured enough to touch him. She placed a hand on the firm pectorals of his chest, moving lower to the clenching abdomen to explore the thin trail of black around his bellybutton. Loki observed her motions with a swift inhale of breath. Her touch was featherlight and soft, sending scorching paths across his skin; he nearly lost his control when she deftly avoided the place between his legs.

"If you continue to do that, I will ravage you in the most savage way I can," he warned, voice tight with lust.

"Maybe it's something we both need."

That broke the last shred of self-control he had left. His mouth nearly attacked hers, body positioning itself between her legs. Beatrice's mouth parted and her lower back arched toward him when he nudged her intimately. Her fingers gripped his forearms and her legs rubbed against his thighs, encouraging him to hurry.

Loki was exceptionally pleased to find her already prepared enough for him and the welcoming warmth nearly undid him. It was even better when he realized that he was the one responsible for doing this to her. He had done so little and it yielded such results. Either way, she was more than ready for him.

"I will have you now and forever, Beatrice," he promised, inches from penetrating her.

"I'm glad you said it first," she whispered, capturing his lips with hers.


	14. Future Plans

**Pandora's Box**

**Disclaimer: **I know, I know. *Facepalms* I bet you guys are all sick of OCXLoki pairings. Well, you're sort of in luck. This won't be anything too OC like that, but with be a reason for it's M status later. It's just an idea that was running around my brain begging me to write it. And damn it, it won't shut up. LOL. Well, this is (with much reluctance) my first Avengers fic I've ever written. As told from the aftermath. Well, if I have some things incorrect, I'll remind you it's my first shot so, if you see anything out of order, don't hesitate to let me know. It will also have a slight crossover with X-Men.

_"Remorse is virtue's root; its fair increase are fruits of innocence and blessedness."_

-William C. Bryant

_"Wickedness is a myth invented by good people to account for the curious attractiveness of others."_

-Oscar Wilde

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

_"He has disobeyed his king... his fate is in his own hands now."_

-Odin

**Future Plans**

They hadn't moved from the bed.

Loki had an arm draped over her shoulders as he fingered with a lock of her hair. They both stared up at the ceiling, relaxed and content after their lovemaking. So far, nothing in the world could disturb the peace they felt.

"I didn't hurt you too much, did I?" he asked.

"A little, but I expected it," she answered, a small smile in her voice, "It's been a long time for the both of us."

Loki tilted his head and looked at her. "Was it everything you had expected?"

"No."

Loki's eyes widened in shock and she looked at him, grinning. "You took my expectations and blew them right out of the water," she said, with an affectionate laugh, "I've only ever been with one person, but he was nothing like you."

He was clearly satisfied with that response, but still a bit annoyed that she could joke about that. He leaned onto his side and watched her, lightly stroking a lock of hair against her cheek. She closed her eyes with a murmur of contentment at the gesture. She opened her eyes again and noticed that there was a look of wonder and intrigue in his eyes. Beatrice smiled and tilted her head curiously at the look, moving closer to him.

"What's that look for?" she asked.

He laughed softly and swallowed thickly, his Adam's apple bobbing. Now he looked at her like she would disappear at any second and leave him alone as everyone often did. "I'm just making sure that you are real..."

Beatrice looked surprised by the words, but reached up and cupped his face. "I'm real, Loki," she assured him, kissing his lower lip, "And here. Always."

Loki sighed and pressed his forehead against hers. His next words sounded breathless. "I truly felt the Allfather's sentence would leave me to be destroyed by this world," he murmured; a smile of longing and almost desperation touched his lips, "I see that Frigga was correct; he does everything for a reason. Perhaps I was meant to find you in the end." He laughed softly, obviously confused with his own emotions. "It's funny, really; it wasn't long ago I desired to rule your species."

Beatrice smirked and gave his butt a slight squeeze. "Don't even try it with this woman, mister."

Loki grinned and rolled over so that he pinned her to the bed with his weight. She yelped with delight and giggled when he began to kiss her across her neck. "Your performance was such a show..." he growled, biting her shoulder and soothing it with a lick of his tongue, "I will not be able to remove the sight from my mind."

Beatrice's body hummed under his touch. "Really?"

"Yes. The scorching heat of your delicate quim wrapped around me...milking me so tightly to climax," he whispered in her ear, voice heavy with building lust, "I love how you clench tighter when my fingers dig into your soft skin or my teeth bite down into your shoulder. I love it when your fluids drench me as you come and scream my name as if I am everything to you. I love watching your lovely chest heave as I-"

"Loki!" Beatrice protested, face bright red; she let out a flustered laugh, "Geez. I didn't think you could turn me on just with words."

He grinned. "So are you saying that you are quite aroused right now?"

"Maybe." she played.

"Just 'maybe' is it?" Loki hissed somewhat aggressively, starting to play with her nipples, "I'll have to correct that."

Before Beatrice could enjoy anything further, the phone near her bed rang loudly. The pair froze and Loki let out a long-suffering grumble. Beatrice rolled her eyes and picked up the phone, bringing it to her ear.

"Hello?" She frowned now and sat up straight. "I was in my room; you know, the prisoner that I am...No, I was just..." She looked at Loki and there was irritation in her gaze. "...Yeah, but I..." She let out a huff and scowled. "Well, I don't see how that's anyone's business but my own... You know, I don't appreciate that sort of talk, I was-Okay, fine. I'll be there soon. I just need to get a shower and I'll join you guys in the meeting room. Okay?" Her brows went up with annoyance and Loki could guess that whoever she was talking to was being difficult. "_Okay?..._Would you rather I stink while I'm there? No? Good."

Beatrice hung up the phone and Loki looked at her curiously. "I take it that was Fury?"

She sighed and nodded, standing out of the bed. "Yes, he wants to know where we've been for the last several hours and wants me in the meeting room. Apparently it's important."

Loki rolled his eyes. "I could live without the spiteful machinations of their grubby, mundane creed..."

"I agree, but unfortunately we don't have much choice right now. Just bite the bullet and we'll be fine."

"I don't see how biting down-"

"It's an Earth idiom, Loki..."

"Oh."

Beatrice stepped into the bathroom, her bare feet slapping the porcelain floor. "Well, I'll get my shower."

"And I'll join you."

Beatrice let out a yelp of laughter when he placed his arms around her waist, but agreed to letting him join her in the shower. They spent the short time that they had cleaning one another. Loki scrubbed her back and leaned forward, placing a kiss on the back of her neck.

"I would take you to Asgard someday," he told her.

Beatrice sputtered a laugh. "Really? Why?"

Loki sounded surprised. "Why do you find that so amusing?"

"Mortals aren't allowed, right?"

"There are always loopholes in the rules, fair Beatrice," he said, kissing her between her shoulder blades, "After all, your presence could in fact lighten the burdens the Allfather has placed upon me. And I..." He paused, his hands sliding effortlessly down her abdomen, tracing her pelvic bone slowly, intimately. There seemed to be hesitation in his voice now. "...would be thoroughly honored to have you rest by my side. You have more than proven your worthiness to be my equal."

Beatrice groaned softly when his fingers began to play against her womanhood. "I can't see how you'd believe that I'd be worthy enough for you."

"_You_ fear a lack of worthiness?" Loki murmured, amusement lighting his voice, "How unlike you."

She said nothing and closed her eyes as the water washed down over their sensitive bodies. Those long, skillful delicious fingers slowly filled her depths and she let out a gasp, arching against them. His own satisfied sound filled her ear and he continued to push those fingers into her faster. His breath slowly came hotter and faster against her ear before he finally pulled his hand away. Loki positioned himself and wrapped his arm around her waist before parting her legs with a small brush of his foot.

"You told Fury that we will be there shortly," Loki hissed, "I believe there is plenty of time for us." When he received no response, he lightly licked the side of her ear. "Will you let me take you again? Will you let me take you in this manner?"

Beatrice swallowed hard, feeling the evidence of his excitement against her rear. "I've never done it like that before," she gasped, a grin in her voice.

"Ooh, really?" Loki sounded positively mischievous now, "Then perhaps we should try it."

"But what if they-Ah!" Beatrice was interrupted when he positioned himself against her and ground his hips forward.

Loki felt a desperation for her again that he had never felt for another. To have someone so willing offer herself freely without being sent to him by his father or by Thor...It was just too thrilling to refuse. And the way she was so receptive to him... Loki hadn't had one this yielding and desirable in a very long time and he could not resist. With one final thrust of his hips, he was inside of her, eased by the flow of the water and her own fluids.

Their movements were frantic and hurried as they strove for each other's release. Loki's nails dug into her hips, watching as she leaned her head back against his shoulder, eyes closed and features twisted with passion. He kept one arm around her with the other digging into her, savoring the feel of their wet, slippery bodies rubbing together beneath the comforting heat of the shower. When he groaned deeply, Beatrice could feel it rumble against her back from his chest.

Loki's need became near primal. He hissed against the back of her neck, pumping into her faster. From the feel of her slick, inner walls gripping around him and the frantic moans growing louder, he could tell that she was getting close.

"Are you going to come, Beatrice?" he panted.

"Y-Yes..." she gasped out. She reached behind her, nails digging into his thigh to urge him on.

Loki reached up and grasped her jaw, making her turn back to look at him. "Look at me," he grated out. She did and noticed the red flush to his cheeks. "I want to watch your face as you come."

Beatrice grinned slightly. "H-How can you...even talk during...?"

"Sheer talent; now come for me. Let me feel and hear your pleasure."

Before Beatrice could try to say anything further in response to those words, Loki increased his thrusts and it didn't take long for her to find that moment of completion. He followed soon after with a hoarse groan in her shoulder.

Loki held her that way for a moment, kissing her shoulders. Their breaths were loud in the shower as they struggled to bring themselves back to reality. Finally, he removed himself from her and turned her around so that he could give her a proper kiss.

"Thank you..." he whispered against her lips.

Beatrice arched a brow. "For what?"

He didn't reply and just smiled, shaking his head. He began to clean her shoulders and she said nothing further, relaxing under his caress. Loki paused at the sight of the bites he left on her neck and smirked, feeling a possessive sense of pride at the sight.

She was his.

O

Loki and Beatrice took their time to get to the meeting. They walked down the corridors together, talking about everything and nothing. Eventually, Loki felt an uncertain curiosity in his mind that he could not resist.

"Beatrice, if you would feel so..." he began. "Would you ever want to bear children?"

Beatrice's features fell slightly. "Of course I would. But I can't."

Loki misinterpreted this as rejection. As usual, his old manner of thinking kicked in and he felt that she made this decision purely because of knowing what he was. He scowled now and stopped, turning to face her.

"You told me that you were here for me," he snapped, "Was that-"

Beatrice held up a hand. "Whoa, no. Don't take it the wrong way!" she interrupted, "I would love the idea of having children of my own, but I..." She hesitated and her eyes seemed to wander. "I can't. I'm physically unable to have children."

Loki considered her words for a moment. _I'm physically unable to have children... _His eyes widened in realization when he finally understood what she meant. "So, you are...infertile?" he asked.

She sighed sadly. "As far as my doctor told me. I went when I tried to have children the first time and that was why my first boyfriend left me," she explained, "He wanted kids and when we found out we couldn't...he took it completely out of proportion and blamed me for it. It's sort of why I choose to volunteer at the daycare center." She looked up at him and noticed the shock on his face. "It's one of the reasons why I felt you deserved better than me."

Loki pondered this before licking his lips. "Asgardian methods have ways around this sort of thing," he said, "And when I get my magic back..."

Beatrice looked somewhat hopeful. "Really?"

Loki smiled somewhat, still hesitant. "Would it be something you want? After all, I am a Jotun and a child born from our coupling would be deemed as an abomination to some. A half-breed, as it were. I don't want to think I waste my time and effort on-"

Beatrice narrowed her eyes. "And you think I'd be put off by the idea of a half-breed child?"

Loki shifted where he stood. "Well...yes."

Beatrice seemed affronted now. "That is a ridiculous idea and I hope you never think that way about me again," she snapped, "Who decided that Jotun's were monsters anyway? Who decided that their children-half or otherwise-would be abominations? I think the idea is completely awesome and anyone who says otherwise are idiots." She watched a partially pleased smile touch Loki's face and smiled as well. "Besides...anything from you has to be amazing anyway."

Loki placed an arm around her and pulled her close. "Someday we will have that child you want."

"But not now," Beatrice said, "Not here."

"Indeed."

They started to walk away again and Beatrice looked at him with an amused smile. "But I have rules," she told him, "The child will not bring ice in the house."

Loki let out a laugh of delight as well. "Oh, but where's the fun in that?"

"Okay then; but if I wake up one morning in an igloo, I know who to blame."

He laughed mirthfully and it sounded absolutely genuine.

O

Fury didn't enjoy the idea of speaking with the World Security Council again.

_"What do you have for us, Director Fury?"_ He was asked by a faceless man whose identity was concealed by the shadows of the room. _"Has the Chitauri POW spoken any more?"_

"No," Fury replied, "It's being kept in intensive care for the moment."

_"If the creature has a plan, we must uncover the truth behind it at all costs." _A faceless woman spoke now, her voice hinting uncertainty. _"These things are running around unchecked and unchallenged. We cannot-"_

"I'm afraid you're wrong," Fury told her, "We have reason to believe that they are being led by an extraterrestrial being who goes by the name of Thanos. We have to focus our attention on this and not of Loki at the moment."

Behind him, Beatrice stepped into the dimly lit room. "Fury!" she yelled.

Agent Hill was behind her. When Fury turned, the Agent looked at him apologetically. "I'm sorry, Director Fury; I tried to stop her."

Beatrice looked up at the monitors of the council members. "Hey, who are you?" she asked.

_"Who are YOU?" _Another faceless man demanded. He looked at Fury. _"Director Fury; who is this woman?"_

Fury scowled at Beatrice. "No one. She was just leaving."

"Leaving?" Beatrice laughed, "You were the one who called me for a meeting."

"You missed it. Now leave. This is a confidential meeting."

"Confidential? Well there's news to me."

The World Security Council members watched the argument between the two, obviously miffed by the fact that a stranger whom they had never seen before was interfering in their private matters. Fury gave her a frustrated glare.

"You either leave or I put you in cuffs again, are we clear?" he threatened.

"Ooh!" Beatrice teased, putting her hands on her hips.

"Agent Hill, get her out of here!" Fury ordered.

Agent Hill took Beatrice's arm and tugged. "Come on, Hastings; out the door. Now."

Beatrice laughed and pushed her slightly. "I know where to go."

Once Beatrice was gone, Agent Hill turned to Director Fury. "I'm so sorry," she told him, grimacing, "But she told me and I quote, 'I am going to give your little butt a good zapping if you don't let me talk to Fury'."

Fury turned to the council. "I'm sure you all have questions about her presence here in SHIELD."

_"Indeed we do," _The first man spoke with irritation. _"She is clearly not registered on your list of agents."_

"Her name is Beatrice Hastings," Fury told them, hesitating somewhat before continuing, "She was a part of Project Pandora."

_"Project Pandora? That project had been closed!"_

_"Are you saying that was Pandora?"_

"Yes," Fury continued, "She was believed to have been terminated as ordered by the council-all of you-but was taken by the doctors leading the project." He tilted his head now, curious. "Though I am curious as to what reason any of you had to wanting her dead."

_"That is confidential information, Director Fury," _Another man snapped. _"You are harboring government property on board your vessel not to mention the war criminal, Loki."_

"Confidential?" Fury shot back, "Beatrice has posed no threat to anyone! Just being a failure is not a good enough reason. Why did you want her dead?"

_"That is not up to you to understand our decision, which apparently was not carried out to the fullest!"_

"You explain to me what was so necessary in taking the life of a child!"

Finally, the first man who had spoke spat out. _"She was seen-not by us-as a threat!"_

"A newborn baby was seen as a threat?" Fury looked skeptical and disgusted.

_"Because she was a product of the Tesseract, that's why!"_

Fury and Agent Hill looked stunned to hear this.

"Care to explain how that's possible?" Fury snapped, trying to keep his composure.

_"The fertilized embryos taken from the labs were succumbed to the radiation of the Tesseract. That part of the testing was kept out of the reports for security reasons. She never should have lived, but she did. We began our study, but learned that her energy conducting abilities proved to be a threat to the President and she was ordered to be killed. THAT is our reason for making the decision to carry it out!"_

Fury couldn't believe what he had just heard.

_"She is a threat. Unless you can prove to the president otherwise...Beatrice should not be allowed to live for much longer."_


	15. Countdown

**Pandora's Box**

**Disclaimer: **I know, I know. *Facepalms* I bet you guys are all sick of OCXLoki pairings. Well, you're sort of in luck. This won't be anything too OC like that, but with be a reason for it's M status later. It's just an idea that was running around my brain begging me to write it. And damn it, it won't shut up. LOL. Well, this is (with much reluctance) my first Avengers fic I've ever written. As told from the aftermath. Well, if I have some things incorrect, I'll remind you it's my first shot so, if you see anything out of order, don't hesitate to let me know. It will also have a slight crossover with X-Men.

_"Remorse is virtue's root; its fair increase are fruits of innocence and blessedness."_

-William C. Bryant

_"Wickedness is a myth invented by good people to account for the curious attractiveness of others."_

-Oscar Wilde

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

_"He has disobeyed his king... his fate is in his own hands now."_

-Odin

**Countdown**

Fury stood behind the window of the medical hall, watching Beatrice laugh and attempt to shave Loki's face for him over the sink. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but she was laughing and he was even smiling. Fury had known Loki in such a short time and in the days that he knew him, Loki never had such a lighthearted, contented smile on his face as he did now. Beatrice said something to which he responded with words of his own, followed by a casual grin and a shrug. Beatrice broke out into giggles and he knotted his brow, still smiling. He clearly said the word "what" and she whispered something in his ear that made his grin broaden.

Fury sighed and closed his eye, walking away to leave them alone and consider the ridiculous order of the council. He wasn't about to follow up on their command; after all, they had tried to destroy all of New York City with his team still in it. They lived purely on fear and fear was what almost killed millions of innocent people. Beatrice had helped them in discovering the Chitauri led by Thanos. She had helped them fight on the Helicarrier. Overall, she was no threat.

"Director Fury?"

Fury turned and noticed one of the doctors standing there, holding a clipboard. She seemed worried. "The creature's awake."

He nodded his head and peered into the medical hall. "Beatrice! Come with me," he told her; when she looked up, he continued gravely, "You're talents are needed again."

Beatrice nodded. "Okay, I'll be there in a sec!"

When Fury left, she looked at Loki with an affectionate smile, finishing the final touches of his shaving on his right cheek. "There. You look good."

"Do go on."

Beatrice chuckled and shook her head. "We can perpetuate your vanity later," she teased, "Let's just hurry and see what Fury wants."

"Very well. In the meantime, I will continue to envision your naked form beneath me."

"Loki..."

He just laughed with mischievous amusement as they followed Fury into a laboratory where the Chitauri was restrained. A thick patch covered the area where Loki had stabbed it and it seemed as if the doctors were trying to keep it alive with machines. Loki found it so amusing how they attempted to understand its anatomy and structure. The creature should have been left dead by his hand. There was no reason to keep it alive.

Catherine and Peter were also there with the Avengers and Beatrice frowned at the sight of them-Catherine and Peter specifically. "Why do they need to be here?" she snapped, looking at Fury for an explanation.

"They're here because I told them to come," Fury explained. _I want them to see..._

Catherine and Peter withered under Beatrice's annoyed stare, but it seemed that Catherine was more willing to speak, despite Beatrice's rebuke of them before. "Beatrice, honey-" she began, approaching her slowly, "Please listen. We never wanted to hurt-"

"Stop," Beatrice ordered, her eyes filled with sadness, "Stop trying to save face, Catherine."

"I'm not. I'm being genuine!"

Tony rolled his eyes at the interaction. "Hey, if we're all done with the Oprah moment, maybe Beatrice can do her thing so we can figure out what the Chitauri are up to?"

Beatrice frowned up at them. "He wouldn't show me the last time."

Fury looked at her gravely. "We feel he might have changed his mind."

Beatrice considered the possibility that the Chitauri before her may have been subject to...'interrogation'. Now that she stared at the creature, there appeared to be evidence of bruising around its mouth and eyes. No doubt Agent Adler's doing. He had after all given Loki a thrashing; the man was dangerous as evidenced by that and she was going to be absolutely sure that he never did something like that to her or to Loki ever again.

"Okay," she finally said, uncertain as she removed her gloves, "But I don't like going into their heads. It feels...strange."

Bruce looked interested. "Strange?"

"I can't describe it, really," Beatrice answered, slowly reaching for the Chitauri's head with two hands, "It's...like there's voices coming in all directions in my head, like a buzzing sound and it just gets louder and louder." Finally, she closed her eyes when her hands made contact with the face of the creature. "Then...it's like everything's..." She trailed off as her eyes opened again and they were pools of black once more.

Peter and Catherine reacted in shock.

"Her eyes," Peter gasped, "Why are they like that?"

Beatrice's features returned to that indifferent, cold stare once more. "Your servants and soldiers are strong, Fury," she said, looking at the man, "But we cannot be broken so easily."

Fury calmly watched the creature before lifting his gaze to Beatrice's eyes. "We have all the time in the world."

Beatrice laughed, a dry sound. "You so foolishly believe that?" she hissed, "Your time is limited, Earthling. Soon, a city will fall by our hand and with every second that you do not yield the Tesseract to us, another city will crumble."

Everyone in the room reacted with shock. Fury attempted to maintain composure.

"How do you expect to do that?" he demanded.

Beatrice was silent, her features difficult to read.

"How do you expect to do that?" Fury demanded again.

Beatrice suddenly smiled now. "You attempted to harness the power of the Tesseract once before beyond simply creating this creature," she said, "But we found another source. A harness of energy capable of being shared with multitudes." Her smile widened and reflected the Chitauri's mad delight. "And now you will be destroyed by your own beacon of hope."

Suddenly, a hush fell over the room. Even Loki looked shocked to hear this, despite his lack of knowledge. All eyes turned to Fury.

"What's it talking about, Director Fury?" Natasha demanded.

Beatrice laughed that dry laugh once more. "Such a pity your worldly rulers always keeps such secrets from its hive," she sneered, "And for their lies, you will all suffer."

Before anything further could be asked, Beatrice's features became a rictus of struggle and she grunted sharply, squeezing her eyes shut. "Show me, you son of a bitch!" she growled, in her natural voice, "Show me!"

Finally, she pulled her hands away and the black ink in her eyes began to diminish to their natural state. They were wide and she stared at the others. "I know what they're planning."

O

"Are you sure?"

"Really?"

"No way."

"That's ridiculous."

Beatrice explained the entire thing of what she had seen in the Chitauri's mind. She could see fragmented images of various Chitauri soldiers surrounding a spherical generator core that was placed in the center of a city moments before it would explode. Their own lives didn't matter; none of it seemed to matter when they obeyed the commands of Thanos, their leader. She didn't know precisely what city they would destroy, but she remembered seeing a white tower where the core was placed.

The others looked stunned in silence after vocalizing their disbelief. Fury was silent as well, obviously mortified. But he seemed to be in deep thought before he spoke, knowing that Tony was staring at him with contempt. Of course, Stark would know...

"Fury, you have some explaining to do," Beatrice snapped, "For all our sakes."

Tony smiled angrily. "Yeah Nick; tell them."

"It was an experimental prototype," Fury explained, with a weary exhale, "We worked on harnessing the energy of the Tesseract to create an efficient power source-"

"Alongside their weapons," Tony interrupted with a knowing smirk.

Fury gave him a look. "Thank you, Mister Stark." He looked at the others who stared at him in mute accusation. "It was before the weapons were made; before Thor first arrived. The core passed all tests and was used in a government testing lab as a source of power."

Steve shook his head. "I've seen what happens," he warned, "The Tesseract is too powerful to be controlled in any way!"

"He is right," Thor agreed, "This is why it needs to remain in Asgard in my father's vault as needed."

Loki arched his brows with contempt. "Oh, because YOU happen to be in charge of it?" he sneered.

"Do we even know where it is?" Natasha interrupted, before Thor could argue with his brother.

Beatrice grimaced and rubbed her forehead. "I saw a tall, white obelisk-looking thing in its head," she explained, "He was really fighting me hard though. It looked like the middle of a city maybe. I couldn't tell any more than that."

"Washington, D.C.," Bruce whispered.

All heads turned to him and then to Beatrice.

"Does that sound about right?" Tony asked.

She nodded her head weakly. "Y-Yeah. I've been to D.C. once during my university studies," she replied, "Everything in the Chitauri's head seemed to point toward that location." Her brow knotted. "But why would they choose D.C.?"

"The creature said 'worldly rulers always keeps such secrets from its hive'," Thor explained, "I still remain unfamiliar with most of Midgardian ways, but Jane has explained to me that it is the home of your 'White House'. It is the place where your leader resides. Perhaps the creatures mean to destroy the place where humans look to for hope."

Fury nodded his head. "I'll have to send out a warning to the president. We will need to evacuate everyone out of the city and retrieve the core."

O

Washington D.C. remained completely unaware of the impending danger for the moment.

Several men dressed in black suits stood near the Washington Monument. Their faces were emotionless and cold as they surveyed the arrival of a cargo truck. Several tourists and people were ushered away from the site, but one man remained, suspicious about the presence of the cargo shipment. He lingered for a moment before approaching one of the suited men.

"Hey! What are you bringing up here?" he demanded.

The emotionless man didn't even look at him.

"Did you hear me?" the man snapped, grabbing the other man's wrist.

Suddenly, the suited man lifted his arm, wielding a pistol. He took a single shot at the man's head, killing him instantly. The shot rang out and caused others to scream and scatter with fright. The face of the pitiless being regarded them before shimmering in an unnatural way; it was like the reflection on a multicolored surface before his body flickered and disappeared, replaced with the scaly, armored body of a Chitauri warrior.

Soon, various "people" began to take the form of Chitauri warriors. The "leading" Chitauri snarled and clicked before two others. They opened the back of the truck, revealing the silver, ominous shape of the generator core that had been stolen; it was glowing with the brightest blue from the energy harnessed from the Tesseract. It also had a timer on it that began to tick down from thirty minutes, though neither one of the Chitauri seemed bothered by this.

Meanwhile, the Helicarrier was making its way toward Washington D.C. in time to see Chitauri unleashing an assault on the city and its people. The sight was seen on the SHIELD monitors and Tony pursed his lips.

"Well, looks like we're suiting up!" he said.

"Director Fury!" Agent Hill exclaimed, from behind a computer, "The Chitauri have activated a counting down mechanism on the core!"

"What?!" everyone exclaimed.

Agent Hill looked at the Avengers with horror and brought up a screen with the core on it. She zoomed in on the side and sure enough, they could see the numbers as they began counting down. They only had twenty minutes left.

"We need to deactivate the timer," Fury said, "What's the calculated radius of the blast?"

Another screen was brought up, revealing the entire city of Washington D.C. and an enormous red wash filled it, even going as far as sister cities around it. The Avengers looked horrified by the sight, and Loki looked impressed.

"That's quite a bit of damage," Bruce murmured, unsettled.

"The Tesseract is a destructive force to be reckoned with," Loki said, "Humans should never have tampered with it."

Tony turned and gave him a cold look. "And maybe whiny little Gods should not have brought it to Earth to begin with."

The entire time, Beatrice had remained silent as everyone around them started to argue, studying the monitor of the blast radius. She blinked slowly and exhaled. "They won't get to it in time..." she whispered to herself. She closed her eyes and held up a hand. "Hey... Hey!" When they stopped arguing and looked at her, Beatrice calmly smiled slightly. "I can get to it. I can stop the blast from happening."

Many of them looked incredulous.

"How?" Steve asked.

"I can drain the energy into my body."

Thor and Loki looked shocked by this, especially Loki. His features went rigid and he shook his head fiercely, seemingly mortified to the point where it looked emotional. "No. No, no, no!" he spat, "Out of the question!"

"Beatrice..." Thor said, shock carrying his voice barely above a breath, "The Tesseract is raw power. If you absorb that much energy, it will kill you."

She just nodded passively. "I know. That's the plan."

Loki began to pace restlessly. "No, that's suicide. I won't let you do it," he hissed, "Come up with something else. That's not working."

'There isn't," Beatrice said, "The more time you waste, people are going to die. If someone could get me close enough, I can do it." When she noticed their hesitation, she smiled sadly and looked at Fury. "After all, isn't that what they wanted, my death? Come on, I heard what you told the council. They wanted me dead, right?"

Everyone looked at Fury now. "Sir, is that true?" Natasha asked.

Fury sighed heavily. "I was going to assure them that you were not a threat."

"Just like you assured them NOT to send a missile out to New York City?" Beatrice asked, with a soft chuckle, "Come on now, Fury; this way's much easier. For everyone."

O

Thor watched at a distance as Beatrice suited herself up. Clint and Natasha fitted an earpiece to her ear allowing her to communicate while Loki rigidly watched on. Thor could see that Loki was struggling to contain the pain in his voice and gaze. Natasha and Clint didn't look at him as they continued to help Beatrice in defensive clothing.

"I cannot accept this, Beatrice," he whispered, his voice like that of a razor, "It's madness!"

Beatrice looked up at him sadly. "I was born from madness, Loki," she argued calmly, "I don't belong in this world and you know it."

"But you ARE in this world!" Loki spat, "You said it yourself that none of their insults or cruelty matters!" He advanced rigidly. "You told me that you would be here! You told me that you were real and you would be mine!"

Beatrice closed her eyes before looking up at him. "I know..."

"You SWORE to me that you would save my life! You would help me find my power again!"

"Yes... but things have changed," Beatrice argued back, emotion brimming in her gaze, "I won't live knowing I could have stopped the death of thousands of people. They don't deserve to die."

"They don't even CARE for you! Fury said it himself!"

"That doesn't matter. People are people and we have no right to judge them."

Clint and Natasha walked away, feeling that the conversation was getting a bit more personal than they wanted to listen to. Natasha gave Beatrice a final look of warning and she returned the look with a nod before looking up at Loki.

"I have to go," she told him.

"No!" Loki whispered fiercely, approaching her, "I will keep you here! I will keep you alive with force!"

She smiled sadly. "If you had your powers, you probably could," she replied, "But how could you be so cruel in allowing them to die for no reason?"

"THEY ARE HUMANS!" Loki shrieked, "They don't deserve to live!"

"I really hoped you would have changed your thoughts about humanity, Loki," Beatrice said, "I wanted you to get your power back and return to your rightful place."

Loki shook his head with a soft moan and reached out to hold her. Beatrice sighed and took him into her arms. Thor looked stunned by the sight of his brother in such pain.

"Please..." he pleaded, his voice shaken with despair.

"Let me go, Loki," Beatrice said, gently.

"No..."

"Please. I have to go."

Thor watched in stunned silence.


	16. She's Gone

**Pandora's Box**

**Disclaimer: **I know, I know. *Facepalms* I bet you guys are all sick of OCXLoki pairings. Well, you're sort of in luck. This won't be anything too OC like that, but with be a reason for it's M status later. It's just an idea that was running around my brain begging me to write it. And damn it, it won't shut up. LOL. Well, this is (with much reluctance) my first Avengers fic I've ever written. As told from the aftermath. Well, if I have some things incorrect, I'll remind you it's my first shot so, if you see anything out of order, don't hesitate to let me know. It will also have a slight crossover with X-Men.

_"Remorse is virtue's root; its fair increase are fruits of innocence and blessedness."_

-William C. Bryant

_"Wickedness is a myth invented by good people to account for the curious attractiveness of others."_

-Oscar Wilde

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

_"He has disobeyed his king... his fate is in his own hands now."_

-Odin

**She's Gone**

Loki watched the monitors on the screen with a rigid, borderline despairing gaze.

Beatrice, Clint and Natasha's life signs were being monitored along with their headset signals as they made their way toward the chaos in the Quinjet with Steve in tow. Thor and Tony were making their way to the battle by the sky.

"I just need you guys to hold them back so that I can get close enough," Beatrice told the three, "It won't take long then."

Natasha looked at her with mild surprise. "Are you afraid?"

Beatrice chuckled quietly. "I'd be a liar if I said I wasn't a little bit."

The conversation was heard in the Helicarrier and a few looked over at Loki as he listened. He didn't care to consider their reactions in the slightest, too focused on everything that was going on.

_"So why Loki anyway?" _Natasha asked, sounding serious this time, _"Why choose him?"_

Beatrice laughed softly over the connection. _"Why _not_ him?"_

_"Come on, Beatrice," _Clint piped up, _"Give us a real reason."_

_"I have seen him. Really seen him," _Beatrice told them, _"There is a beauty to him that he refuses to see. Though he probably won't admit it so easily, there is still goodness and light deep inside. Yeah, he's done his share of bad things like everyone else, but dwelling on them will not help anyone heal."_

_"But you're-" _Steve began.

_"Loki is strong. The plan was to help him understand the human race and retrieve his powers again," _Beatrice said, her voice carrying a bit of sadness, _"I was just a placeholder not worthy for the likes of a God, it seems. Though I can't lie-I was happy that he felt the same, but this is the way it has to be. If I die, then many will live." _Her voice picked up slightly, though everyone could easily tell that it was a ruse. _"Everyone will be happy with this anyway."_

Fury looked mildly pained, but for a split second as he felt the need to stay on task and maintain impassiveness. "You only have yourselves twenty minutes on that timer, people!" he said, speaking into the COM-links of everyone available.

Tony was being pursued by two Chitauri soldiers. He flipped in midair and blasted himself backwards, leaving the two soldiers looking back with snarls. Tony took two shots at them from his hands and knocked them clear off of their hover crafts, sending them plummeting to the earth below. Their bodies narrowly missed the Quinjet as it landed merely a few yards from the generator core guarded by several Chitauri soldiers.

"Okay," Beatrice told the three as they stepped out of the Quinjet. "I need you to cover me while I make a run for the core!"

Clint readied several arrows and took shots at Chitauri who tried to flank Beatrice as she sprinted through laser fire and chaos. Natasha rushed behind her, also taking shots with her handguns while Steve assisted with punches and swings of his shield.

Beatrice grunted sharply as she narrowly missed a laser shot, spinning and rolling behind a car. She growled in frustration before removing her gloves and placing them against the car, draining it of its energy. She finally poked her head up and began to take shots at Chitauri soldiers, ducking from their own laser shots as well.

"Tony!" she yelled, "I need air cover here!" She looked up at the sight of Tony approaching. "I need-"

A shot from a laser gun struck her in the leg and Beatrice screamed in pain. The sound reached the Helicarrier and Loki's eyes widened.

"Beatrice!" he shouted.

Her panting could be heard over the monitors. _"I'm fine! I'm fine!" _she groaned, _"I'm moving!"_

Everything seemed to go in slow motion as Beatrice sprinted toward the generator core. Chitauri who tried to stop her were killed by arrows, bullets from Natasha's guns and beaten by Steve. Two Chitauri standing before the core were shot down with ease as she finally approached, breathless from her running and from the searing pain in her leg.

_"I'm here," _she announced, _"There's fifty seconds left."_

Fury as well as others in the room closed their eyes with relief.

Beatrice raised her hands and pressed them to the core. A strange smile lit her face, but it wasn't of sadness or pain.

It was awe.

_"Wow...you guys..." _she breathed.

"Beatrice, keep speaking with us," Loki encouraged, "Tell us what's going on!"

She laughed softly, despite the fact that her hand was slowly becoming engulfed in blue light.

_"It's beautiful..." _

There were a few mildly uncomfortable reactions around him, but Loki couldn't resist his sorrowful smile. "Are you in pain right now?" he asked.

She grunted slightly, but chuckled. _"Eh...a little..." _There was a pause before she spoke again. _"Loki...I know I promised you I was going to be there for you and I'm sorry for telling a lie. The God of Lies needs to hear the truth sometimes and the truth is... You are loved. Maybe it doesn't make much of a difference to you, I don't know-but I do love you, more than I have ever loved anyone. I'm a coward for never saying it, yeah-but you are loved. Always."_

Loki stood there, shock written on his features. It was as if he had been frozen, unable to do or say anything. The others around him merely looked shocked as well, but could not speak against such a heartfelt confession at this moment.

_"And Fury? I have a last request for you..."_

Fury calmly spoke. "Speak it."

_"I know he's a pain, but give Loki a break," _Beatrice said, laughing with effort, _"Can you do that for me?"_

"I'll try," Fury promised.

Beatrice smiled weakly, her body nearly completely devoured by blue flames, burning away her flesh and clothes. "I wish it didn't have to be like this, but I hope you guys at least help Loki find redemption," she said, "Loki? I'll... I'll look in on you from time to time, okay?" She gritted her teeth with a moan, the flesh of her face peeling away from the burns.

Finally, Beatrice's body was completely destroyed by the energy of the Tesseract, incinerating her into nothing. On the Helicarrier, her life meter flatlined and a simple CONNECTION LOST flashed over the image of her face. The sound of her flatlining was the only noise heard in the room. Outside, the remaining few Chitauri let out bellowing shrieks of fury and began to retreat as the Avengers made their way to the empty generator core surrounded by scorched earth.

And no signs of Beatrice. The Tesseract energy had completely destroyed any traces of the woman.

O

Months of silence had passed since then.

Thor sought his brother through the Helicarrier and was led into the darkness of the cargo hold. "Loki?" he called, gently, "I know you are here."

"Oh! Let me guess... Are you going to further attempt to persuade me to...change for the better?"

Thor looked up at the partially drunken, contemptible voice of Loki; he found him sitting on a stairway cradling a bottle in his arms. In the dimmed light of the hold, Thor could see that his brother was actually drunk.

"Loki please..." he pleaded, "Come and speak with me. You know you can always talk."

"Get out!" Loki spat, flinging the bottle at Thor.

It missed its intended target completely and Thor watched as it shattered at the floor. He sighed and looked up at him. "Loki, we must bring this to an end."

Loki didn't respond and simply stared ahead, the weak light revealing the harshly contemplative look on his face. Thor sighed and stood in silence before he looked toward Loki again. "Beatrice wouldn't have wanted you to sit here in silence, brother."

"I am not your brother!" Loki shouted, fury and pain in his voice now. He jolted up from the steps and stormed up to Thor. "And do not come here trying to pacify me with words of Beatrice when you know so little! She killed herself for those petty little creatures!"

"Loki!" Thor admonished, "Do not insult the dead! Beatrice did what she felt was right!"

"And look where it got her!"

"She made the choice! No one made it for her!"

"And now she's dead!"

Thor was silent once again before he gave Loki a deeply thoughtful look. "Did you love her?"

"What?" Loki looked angry.

"Did you love her, brother?"

While the conversation continued, the site of the detonation core had been tended to by government officials and was under constant vigil to keep civilians away. However, the air was faintly growing hot and crackled with peculiar blue energy. Monitors within a nearby makeshift laboratory nearby suddenly blared out warnings of increasing radiation levels and scientists rushed to their computers to investigate the matter. Frantic voices overlapped one another.

"Sir! Radiation levels are spiking high from the core site!"

"Get me readings!"

"Bring up the cameras!"

Before they could do anything, a loud, metallic roar filled the air; it rocked everyone and everything at their desks and monitors, causing the energies within the electronic devices to short out and fail completely, casting them in darkness. Everyone scrambled to their feet, struggling to get the power back on while a scientist peered outside, catching sight of a streak of bright blue passing sight before disappearing overhead.

"What is it?" a man cried behind him.

"I don't know," the scientist gasped, looking back at them, "I don't-"

The ground shook again and they were thrown to the ground once more. The scientist who had caught sight of the blue looked up in time, screaming as a pillar of blue energy came crashing down onto him.

O

_Note_-Short chapter back!


	17. Realization and Revelation

**Pandora's Box**

**Disclaimer: **I know, I know. *Facepalms* I bet you guys are all sick of OCXLoki pairings. Well, you're sort of in luck. This won't be anything too OC like that, but with be a reason for it's M status later. It's just an idea that was running around my brain begging me to write it. And damn it, it won't shut up. LOL. Well, this is (with much reluctance) my first Avengers fic I've ever written. As told from the aftermath. Well, if I have some things incorrect, I'll remind you it's my first shot so, if you see anything out of order, don't hesitate to let me know. It will also have a slight crossover with X-Men.

_"Remorse is virtue's root; its fair increase are fruits of innocence and blessedness."_

-William C. Bryant

_"Wickedness is a myth invented by good people to account for the curious attractiveness of others."_

-Oscar Wilde

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

_"He has disobeyed his king... his fate is in his own hands now."_

-Odin

**Realization and Revelation**

Washington D.C. was mostly cast in darkness and destruction when SHIELD and the Avengers arrived. The buildings were scorched from an unusual, dimming blue heat, the streets were also charred from the same. As they searched, Loki remained in the Helicarrier, not concerned in the slightest if anything happened to them. He just watched the monitors with a drunken smirk on his face before looking toward Fury.

"Would you care to place a wager on their lives?" he sneered.

Fury glared at him before he looked up at the monitors. "Stay close," he told them, "There were reports of a...monster sighted."

_"That can't be, I'm right here," _Bruce muttered bitingly.

No one laughed at his sardonic, self-discriminating joke. They continued to seek out the "monster" in question, but could hear nothing or see any signs of it. They kept their weapons at the ready in preparation for any wicked surprises. Tony cast his gaze around the streets before he stepped away from the group.

"What's going on?" Natasha asked, softly, "What happened to the power?"

"Hey, check this out," Tony said, interrupting her.

They looked back at him and noticed that he was standing over a deep impact crater in the street. Clint frowned and tilted his head to get a better view. "What the hell is it?" he asked, "A missile or something?"

Tony seemed to understand and his voice carried mild concern. "I don't think so..." He lifted himself into the air to get a better view and his voice was now completely worried. "Uh, Nick? I think we have a problem here."

_"What is it?"_ Fury asked.

"See for yourself." Tony told him.

His mask transmitted a digital photo of the image in question and everyone in the Helicarrier reacted in shock, save for Loki. He merely regarded the image with a broad grin and a chuckle of contempt, as if the shocking sight did nothing to elicit a reaction from him.

Displayed on the monitor was what appeared to be an enormous foot print.

"Is that a foot?" an Agent exclaimed.

_"Good eye, Agent," _Tony quipped.

Just then, an explosion in the distance caused the Avengers to look toward a portion of the city in the distance, catching sight of a pillar of smoke and a towering blue shape of the purest, glowing blue energy amid the buildings. They couldn't fathom what it was, but it appeared humanoid in nature and was walking slowly, calmly among a barrage of gunfire, possibly from military weaponry. But it seemed that it was not going down from the assault.

"What is that?" Bruce gasped.

Natasha removed a set of compact binoculars from her belt to get a better view. Slowly, she lowered them and her eyes widened. Clint caught the look as she offered the binoculars to him and frowned, seeing what had caused her reaction.

"Wait...that looks like-" he began, alarm in his voice.

"Beatrice." Natasha finished.

Loki reacted slightly to the mention of the name. He shifted in his seat and looked up at the monitor. "What?" he said, stunned.

Fury glanced back at him before attempting to sound serious. "Are you sure?" he asked.

_"I know what I'm looking at and it's this giant...energy being that looks like Beatrice!" _Bruce exclaimed.

O

The humanoid, crackling blue, clothes-less being resembling Beatrice walked through the city; her eyes were bright blue, pupil-less and her features were absolutely devoid of emotion as she was receiving a barrage of shellfire from military troops and tanks. The ammunition ripped harmlessly into her body before she paused and reached back toward buildings, scattering screaming people inside. Her hands grasped the building and at her touch, the lights and energy within flickered before dimming down as it traveled through her arm.

Her movements were robotic and slow as she raised her hand at the forced below, unleashing a beam of energy down at them, obliterating everything in sight. As she turned to continue on, Mjolnir flew through the air and shattered the left side of her face. Beatrice recoiled from the shot, now missing most of her head as she looked toward Thor flying toward her, retrieving his hammer again. Slowly, her face began to regenerate before him.

"Beatrice!" he shouted, "Stop this, now!"

She did not react at the mention of her name and simply raised her hand, swatting Thor out of the sky as if he were a simple fly. Thor regained his composure by flipping in midair, watching as Beatrice continued on as if he was of no concern.

"Beatrice!" Thor tried again.

But she didn't know him or react to the mention of her name, continuing to walk away from him and consuming energy from buildings as if it was all that mattered. Thor was stunned by this; Beatrice behaved as if she was a soulless shell. He looked down as more human military forces began to converge on her once more, including the Avengers. He started forward, but a strange glow from his side caused him to glance down to the Tesseract fitted against his back. He frowned and reached behind to take it, studying the glowing thing in its housing.

"What is this?" Thor wondered.

On board the Helicarrier, Fury was in the middle of an argument with the council. "If you try to take her out, you'll end up wiping out half of Washington D.C.!" he bellowed, "Let the Avengers lead her out of the city first!"

_"They have twenty minutes," _one of the men snapped.

Fury scowled and ended the conversation. He looked back and noticed that Loki was gone. "Where the hell is Loki?" he demanded.

The Hulk let out a fierce scream as he launched himself toward Beatrice's face. A swift punch from one of his enormous fists to her face sent the giant being falling back, crashing over top of buildings. The Hulk lunged at her impassive face, but she grabbed him from the air and flung him aside. The enormous, green being was sent sailing through the air with a fierce roar to follow. Beatrice righted herself and looked over toward a few military jets streaking toward her.

Her mouth slowly opened and a metallic scream echoed from her, vibrating everything in its path. The pilots cried out in their cabins, gripping their ears from the volume of the scream. The machinery around them sparked wildly, forcing them to eject. She watched as their bodies drifted safely to the ground where Steve surveyed them to be certain that they were unharmed. Once again, she continued on, draining energy from still-working buildings.

"Beatrice!"

She paused briefly and looked ahead, catching sight of Loki standing among the wreckage not too far from her. She didn't react at all to his presence and moved forward once more. He scowled furiously, attempting to maintain calm; he was without his powers and mortal, so an enormous being such as this could surely end his life without difficulty. He wasn't going to retreat as a coward would and knew that she had to remember him.

"You will not destroy this world!" Loki bellowed, "I mean to rule it!"

Beatrice continued forward, not breaking stride.

"Brother, move!" Thor cried, flying to his side, "She doesn't remember us!"

Loki glared at him fiercely. "Stand aside, Thor!" he spat.

"I know it looks like her, Loki; but there is nothing of the woman you shared affections for in that creature!"

"She will know me!"

Beatrice suddenly stopped and leered down at Loki and Thor. She slowly reached out with one hand, almost as if she was going to unleash another blast of energy, but Loki's desperate shout of her name halted her. Everyone who could see her watched as the ridges above those empty eyes arched slightly, those lips parting just a fraction; it was almost as if she seemed surprised, but for a mere second. She leaned down to Loki and studied him.

"You know me, Beatrice," he whispered, facing the creature tensely, "I know you do."

She watched him emptily for a few moments before raising her hand, smacking him aside like he was nothing. Thor watched in horror as Loki's body was sent flying across concrete and rubble before finally going still.

"Loki, no!" he shrieked.

Thor rushed at Loki's immobile form and turned him over; he was covered in open wounds, scrapes and cuts. His eyes barely hung open lifelessly. The force of her smack wasn't enough for his mortal body to handle. Thor could hear Beatrice continue to thunder away and held his lifeless brother close to his chest, gritting his teeth and letting out a wail of despair.

_How strange that I would die here... _Loki's final thoughts felt so far away, _How strange that I would lose myself..._

O

"Loki!"

Loki mumbled weakly and opened his eyes, stunned to see himself standing before Odin. He looked around with a frown of confusion and felt his body, noticing that he no longer had any wounds or felt any pain. He wasn't on Midgard anymore and was surrounded in light. For the moment, Loki said nothing to the Allfather and just regarded him emptily. Odin's eyes were softer than they had usually been since he last saw him.

"Loki, you've finally understood..." Odin said, sadly.

"Understood what?" Loki snapped.

"What it means to feel the pain they've felt. What it means to understand loss and suffering in the way you have caused them." Odin slowly started to pace back and forth, his tone became slightly harder than before, but not in a rebuke so much as a stern reprimand. "You have taken and hurt those who have done nothing but loved you, but Beatrice saw differently. She has changed you, son. She truly has whether you see it or not."

"I'm not your-" Loki began.

Odin stopped and stared at him sternly. "You _are _my son, Loki; regardless of transgressions or birth, you are my son." He stopped long enough to regard him intently. "You have earned the right to have your powers again, but there will be a price."

Loki scowled. "As expected."

Odin ignored the tone. "Beatrice is beyond help, Loki. You will have to choose to release her from the Midgardians in whatever way necessary. The Tesseract will help in that endeavor for she was born as a remnant of it."

"Beatrice is-" Loki tried.

"SHE is gone!" Odin snapped, glaring at him, "What she is... She is a mere fragmented image of her former self, completely overwhelmed by the Tesseract's energy! There is nothing more that can be done for her now." He stepped toward Loki and raised the very end of Gungnir to Loki's chest. "Return to Midgard, Loki Odinson. Prove to me and the rest of the Nine Realms that you are more than a creature of betrayal. Prove to all of us that you are not yet lost!"

And then, Loki felt himself hurled backwards.

O

Loki's eyes snapped open and was greeted with the image of a joyous, but highly-shocked tearful Thor. He gasped as he stared down at Loki, watching transfixed as the Fallen God's magic appeared to fill his entire body. Loki sat up in amazement, watching as his armor appeared as well as his horned helm. He looked at Thor who also shared his disbelief. For the moment, neither one of them said anything until Loki's small smile disappeared. He cast his gaze into the distance, spotting the glowing shape of Beatrice as she made her way further from the city.

"Thor...we're going to require the Tesseract..." he said.

Thor seemed to comprehend what he was saying. His eyes widened slightly. "But Loki..." he began, "You do not know what will happen."

"No," Loki said, resolutely, "But it must be done."

Thor nodded his head calmly, but his eyes carried pain. "Very well. I will get close enough to her and use it."

"I will lead her from the city," Loki replied, standing, "Perhaps your cowardly mortal friends will be of some use and not attempt to obliterate their own realm for the sake of saving their skins." He paused and snorted slightly. "If one would even consider than sensible."

Thor chuckled softly. "None of us tend to be sensible at all, brother."

For once, Loki actually smiled. "Yes..."

Tony flew through the air, surveying the damage done to the city. "You know, insurance rates are going to skyrocket in this city," he remarked. He looked up and caught sight of a bomber screaming toward the city. "Oh Christ, Nick! Can't you keep your boys in higher up on a tighter leash?"

_"You have five minutes to stop Beatrice from reducing us all to the dark ages!" _Fury told him, _"Or they light up the entire city."_

"Lovely," Tony quipped, "I sure got a kick out of being blown up last time. Well...twice is a curse so...why not?" He cleared his throat. "JARVIS? What's the quickest, most non-painful way to get a missile from firing?"

"I WOULD SUGGEST DISABLING THE PRIMARY LAUNCH FUNCTIONS, SIR," JARVIS announced through his helmet, "PERHAPS THIS WILL BE AN EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY TO TEST OUT THE-"

"Prototype," Tony finished, smirking, "Good plan, JARVIS."

Thor and Loki made their way toward Beatrice's location, watching as Tony flew toward the bomber in the distance. Thor had to carry Loki the entire way-though his brother was once again Godly-he couldn't very well fly. Loki rolled his eyes at the sight of the bomber.

"So eager to destroy their own, aren't they?" he muttered.

Thor didn't want to ruin such a union with talks of the past, so he simply nodded in agreement for Loki's sake. They made their way toward Beatrice and Thor clutched the Tesseract tightly in his other hand. Beatrice seemed to sense it because she halted completely, looking down at them as they stopped in front of her. Thor held the Tesseract toward her and her lips parted slightly. What surprised them momentarily was that she took a small step back.

"Beatrice...farewell!" Thor whispered.

She reached down and Loki watched her with anguish in his gaze as the Tesseract powered up into a highly-concentrated beam, striking the towering being directly into the chest. Beatrice let out a metallic scream and lurched back. The two watched calmly as her entire body was completely dissipated into a collection of star-like dust before vanishing in a flash of light. Once she was gone, they were cast into darkness.

For the moment, Loki didn't speak. He just stood there as if stunned to silence. Thor lowered the Tesseract and watched as the glow dimmed. He looked over at Loki and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Brother...we do not know if it destroyed her," he said.

Loki exhaled and closed his eyes. "She was loyal...courageous..." He smiled weakly, trying not to seem so pathetic, even though emotion was bubbling in his voice. "She was mine alone and now she is gone...scattered from my eyes."

Thor smiled reassuringly. "We will find a way to bring her back. I swear it."

"No. Do not swear to something you cannot promise, Thor," Loki said bitterly. He turned and walked away, covering the anguish and loathing he felt.

But not for Odin. Not for Thor. Not for the pathetic Midgardians who had been the source of his plight.

For himself for letting her slip so far away.


	18. To the Future

**Pandora's Box**

**Disclaimer: **I know, I know. *Facepalms* I bet you guys are all sick of OCXLoki pairings. Well, you're sort of in luck. This won't be anything too OC like that, but with be a reason for it's M status later. It's just an idea that was running around my brain begging me to write it. And damn it, it won't shut up. LOL. Well, this is (with much reluctance) my first Avengers fic I've ever written. As told from the aftermath. Well, if I have some things incorrect, I'll remind you it's my first shot so, if you see anything out of order, don't hesitate to let me know. It will also have a slight crossover with X-Men.

_"Remorse is virtue's root; its fair increase are fruits of innocence and blessedness."_

-William C. Bryant

_"Wickedness is a myth invented by good people to account for the curious attractiveness of others."_

-Oscar Wilde

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

_"He has disobeyed his king... his fate is in his own hands now."_

-Odin

**To the Future**

_Several months later_

Milla offered him no comfort.

The dog just stared up at him with a small whine as he entered the home that had once belonged to a flawed, yet perfect Midgardian woman. A woman whom he had tragically overlooked as being his one savior from himself. He spent some time studying the emptiness, feeling how utterly lifeless the house felt now that she was gone from this world. He wandered the kitchen and smiled sorrowfully when he remembered how Beatrice had first touched up his wound from the knife fight in the alley.

He wandered into the garage and remembered her ridiculous dancing. That brought a rare tear to his eye and a weak laugh. Milla nudged his hand and he sighed, dragging it across her soft head, not to comfort the animal, but perhaps himself.

"Loki?" Thor called from outside.

Loki didn't look at him when Thor stepped into the garage. He looked around at the details of the location before approaching his brother. "Loki, what are you still doing here, brother?" he asked, gently, "We should return to Asgard shortly."

Loki kept his gaze on the painting. "I simply wish to reminisce, Thor," he said, "Allow me to have that, at least..."

Thor didn't argue and looked up at the painting with him. "It's good to see that your skill with the brush remains."

"I suppose so."

Thor tried to lighten his mood and smiled a bit. "Perhaps when we return, you could start painting again as you had when we were children. As I recall, your skills certainly surpassed mine when it came to the brush."

Loki didn't share his amusement. "They would not welcome me..."

"I will make them see as I always have."

"It's hopeless, Thor. They know what I am."

It was strange how Loki spoke with a continued calm and quiet to his voice, as if he wasn't even trying to argue. But Thor knew the reason behind this; Loki was obviously at a loss without the Midgardian woman whom may or may not have been destroyed by the Tesseract. Thor was simply amazed that Loki could have found any reason to feel affections at all, but he didn't bring this up. He just smiled warmly and patted his brother's shoulder.

"Do not fear, brother," he assured him, "Things will return to normal. You'll see."

Loki didn't reply.

Thor glanced down at the dog. "What of...the creature?"

Loki gave Milla a small pet. "I had a thought," he replied, "There are a few things I wish to do before returning to Asgard."

Thor's brows went up.

O

Loki properly disguised himself in a Midgardian suit and scarf as he did when he arrived at Stuttgart before arriving at Beacon Hills. Of course, the children were all there, laughing and playing without a care in the world. It was clear that Beatrice's fate was not told to them just yet. He brought Milla into the building and the children immediately caught sight of him and the dog. They yelled with glee and crowded around him.

"Mister Loki!"

He smiled down at them. "I've brought you a gift, children," he said, "This creature will certainly enjoy the attention you give it."

The children eagerly took turns petting and playing with Milla. It was clear that the dog enjoyed all the attention. Loki took the chance to seek out Brooke in her office and she was indeed startled when he stepped inside.

"Good day, Lady Brooke," he said, smiling coldly, "I can see you're quite comfortable."

Brooke shot out of her chair, wavering."L-Loki?" she stammered, as he slowly advanced, "I-I didn't know what they were going to do, I swear!"

Loki was close enough to press a finger to her lips. "Shh," he soothed, "That doesn't matter now. I understand your treachery, Brooke; one day, it will betray you in the end. You see, I deal very little in traitors, but I understand how little you are worth the effort." He leaned forward and spoke severely, but still quite calmly. "I could snap you in half, you know. I could break you into powder and cast you to the wind, but I don't think Beatrice would be so thrilled about that."

Brooke's eyes widened. "Where...Where is she?"

"Oh! She's dead," Loki snapped, turning to go, "You can blame yourself for that."

And he walked out to the playground, leaving Brooke alone. He found Emma sitting by herself on one of the swings and took a swing beside her. Thor watched this in the distance, properly disguised in a Midgardian denim jacket and pants.

"Is Miss Beatrice coming back?" Emma asked, looking up at Loki sadly.

"I'm afraid not, young Emma," Loki answered, "But you were her favorite and she dearly loved you as her own."

Loki was surprised when Emma didn't cry. She just stared down at the ground. "I'm going to miss her."

"Yes, as will I."

After a moment of silence, Loki smiled and produced a small, stone figure of Sleipnir with his magic. He offered it to Emma and she looked up at him with amazement, taking the gift. He winked at her before getting up and walking away.

He joined Thor on the sidewalk. "Just one more trip, Thor."

Thor arched his brows. "To where?"

A smirk touched Loki's lips. "You'll see."

Loki took Thor to the location where Cookie had been murdered. He mentioned trying to find the men responsible and much to his delight, they were standing near the alley with no one else in sight. He approached them. They noticed and scowled at him.

"Bitch, didn't I cut you?" one of them sneered.

Loki chuckled. "Indeed. I'm here to return the favor."

They laughed in disbelief, remarking that he was just crazy and eager to die. Loki's grin widened and the Asgardian armor appeared on him. Their laughter disappeared and their eyes widened in horror. Loki tilted his head, amused by their fear.

"Now then...let's see what you got...tough guy!" he hissed.

The two men shrieked and sprinted into the alley with Loki casually strolling after them.

O

It felt strange returning to Asgard.

Loki wasn't welcomed as he suspected, but Thor took care of those matters. It didn't make much difference to him and he simply returned to his quarters, surprised to find everything as he had left it before disappearing into the Void.

"I heard what happened."

Loki glanced up from his desk, finding Frigga standing there. She had a look of sympathy in her gaze to which Loki swallowed thickly and looked away. She approached him in tears, throwing her arms around him before he expected it. Loki exhaled and returned the embrace, relieved to feel that at least she was true and honest. Odin must have been in Odinsleep for him not to arrive in his room or meet him when he returned to Asgard.

"I'm so sorry, Loki," Frigga whispered, "I saw that you cared for her."

Loki shook his head and spoke rigidly. "She's gone...It no longer matters."

"It does!" Frigga insisted, parting to look at him tenderly. "You've learned to love. Of course it matters."

"What is love when the reason for it has perished?" Loki murmured weakly.

He parted from her and walked away. Frigga watched him go with anguish. "Loki..."

After a few meetings, Thor found Loki sitting at the edge of the broken Bifrost where Heimdall was standing. Neither one of them said anything to each other as Thor approached and sat down beside him. He looked at Loki, seeing the empty look he had as he watched the vastness of the Void.

"She held her oath..." Loki said, softly, "I am back to my immortal status once again because of her."

Thor smiled half-heartedly. "Indeed. You are home."

"No. My home disappeared that day."

Thor's smile disappeared. "Loki, she may not be dead."

"Perhaps...but she is still gone from my eyes."

Far outside of the sight of even Heimdall, the towering form of Beatrice stood on a desolate rock, surrounded by Chitauri. Then, the form disappeared, replaced with a normal-shaped being; it was Beatrice without clothing and her broken, cracked flesh filled with blue light. Her eyes were no longer dark, but an unholy bright blue. She looked emptily around her at the snarling, hateful creatures before a small smile touched her lips.


End file.
